Crimson Moon: Chronicles of Fate Part 1: Unearthed
by Yami Kero
Summary: After centuries of fighting, the four factions of paladin, vampire, lycan, and beastmen have gone their separate ways and are spread throughout the world.  However...new conflicts begin to arise and history is soon to repeat itself.
1. Prologue

**Hi guys...I know it's been a while since I've written but...lately this fanfic idea has been going through my mind for quite a bit ever since I took part in an RP in a forum regarding Nanoha. I was also looking over Satashi's fanfic "Vampire Fate"...which btw, I still need to continue reading. Also...as this fanfic continues...I just want readers to know that some bits in a few chapters were inspired from the Heisei Rider (Kamen Rider) franchise. The one in particular that inspired me for some of the chapters and the ones to come in the future were from Kamen Rider Kiva. Those that are familiar with this Rider might recognize a few bits that were from certain episodes.**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha or any of the characters, except my own...those belong to Keizou Kusakawa, the director of the series and Masaki Tsuzuki the writer of the series. I also don't own Kamen Rider Kiva or any of the characters as well...I'm just using the season as a reference. The credit goes to the writers Toshiki Inoue & Shōji Yonemura, the director Ryuta Tasaki, and the creator of the Kamen Rider series Shotaro Ishinomori.

With that said...enjoy the fanfic.

_After centuries of fighting, the races of both vampire and lycan had temporarily drawn to a close. The vampires current leaders were in hibernation while the remainders of the once powerful vampire clan who now call themselves "The Remnants" were scattered across the world. The lycans however, have also scattered while trying to find new places to live, while keeping their affliction hidden from human eyes. The beastmen have been forced into hiding while political conflict and hidden agendas have caused unrest within the paladin ranks._

_Now in the modern world…a young girl, a rouge, a scholar, and a paladin who has no memory of his past are about to cross paths amidst an ancient feud between the two races. Alliances will be formed, family ties severed, and a prophecy will be uncovered._

_Prologue_:

A young female vampire was currently on the run holding the child that she hoped would one day be able to find a way to help stop the meaningless feud between the race of vampires and lycans. She eventually reached a small village and urgently knocked on one of the doors of a nearby house. An elderly couple answered the door but was shocked and surprised when they saw the woman in front of them. She handed them her child and asked if they would take care of it for her. They looked at each other before looking at the baby before them. She was absolutely beautiful, with skin as white as snow and eyes as blue as the ocean sea. Just as the elderly couple was about to thank the young woman…she was gone.

The young woman who had just given up her child then ran back into the forest before she stopped briefly and looked back at the village. She could now hear the pounding footsteps of her enemies as well as the swift running that was from her own kin. She gave one last long look at the village where her daughter was currently kept and one final thought to part to her daughter whom she'd never see.

"Be safe…and be strong, my beautiful daughter," she whispered.

A single tear fell from her eye before the snarls and growls of her enemies surrounded her and then…she took her sword from her sheathe as the lycans surrounded her. They were crouched down as they circled, preparing for the kill. She could hear their growls as well as them licking their chops as they tried to anticipate her moves. The young woman then did the unexpected as her kin came towards their enemy…she took her own life.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Thanks to those that reviewed and liked the opening part to this fanfic project. As I continue with each chapter, I'll be trying to add more layers and as you read this fanfic...I'm sure you'll eventually figure out the four people that I mentioned in the prologue. As for doing research on various firearms and other weapons...this will take up a bit of my time as I try and figure out a certain style for some of my characters, as well as supporting ones and try to stay true to the canon characters without trying to make them OOC...which I obviously find as a challenge besides writing the action scenes because of the many details I have to input. Others seem to have a knack for writing those types...I'm just not one of them.**_

_**Also...for anyone that is familiar with firearm stats and think I might have made some mistakes somewhere regarding them...please...by all means put your constructive criticism about them in your review as I would much appreciate as much clarification on them as possible.**_

Disclaimer: Same as I mentioned in the prologue. I only own the characters that I've created...nothing more.

**With that said...enjoy.**

**Chapter 1** **Discovered & First Encounters **

The night appeared to be still, however it was anything but peaceful. A slight breeze blew through the forest as a small research team was accompanied by 2 paladin forces. The leader in the research team kept pointing the group in the direction that the signal in his tracker was giving.

"Keep your heads on a swivel people…we don't know when they'll probably show up," said Patrick, the lead captain in the first paladin platoon.

"How much further Dr. Reese?" asked one of the paladin soldiers in the second platoon.

"A couple more meters…we're getting close," he replied.

By the time they arrived at the specified site, one of the research team members next to Dr. Reese brushed away some leaves to reveal what appeared to be a stone door. Dr. Reese then took out what resembled a pendant and then placed it into the small opening in the center and turned the circle slowly.

The ground suddenly began to shake as the area they were standing in started to rise. A couple more minutes of shaking occurred before the group then found themselves standing at the entrance of ancient ruins. Cracks were showing on a couple of the stone columns that was holding the entrance. Several statues of what appeared to be ancient royalty were in between a few of the columns entrance.

"Raven 01, are you seeing what we're seeing?" asked Patrick, to one of the higher ups back at HQ.

"That's affirmative Knight 01. We're seeing the exact same thing that you guys are."

"Talon 01, keep a clear visual contact above the ruins," said Jason, the lead captain in the second paladin platoon.

"Roger Knight 02, maintaining distance of 5 feet above the ruins," replied one of the helicopter pilots.

As the two platoons and the research team went in the ruins, they didn't realize that they would soon be followed by something.

Back on the helicopter, a young man that had brown hair and silver eyes stirred slightly. Kaname usually didn't say much during his meditative state, yet tonight somehow felt different. He didn't stir for a few minutes before slowly opening his eyes and saying, "They're following them."

"Who is following them?" asked a paladin soldier on Kaname's left, named Andrew.

"Not who…but what?" clarified Philip, Kaname's long trusted partner.

"Alright then…what?" asked Andrew.

At that moment, Kaname then opened his eyes and put up his night vision visor and faced Andrew.

"Do you believe that creatures of the night exist soldier?" asked Kaname.

"You mean like…nocturnal…sir?" inquired Andrew.

"I meant…creatures that are not considered normal," clarified Kaname.

"What do you mean sir?" he asked.

"Vampires…and lycans," answered Philip.

"T-th-those…are just myth…right?" asked Andrew, his voice slightly quivering.

Kaname looked at Andrew with a stern look on his face.

"They're real all right," he replied. "Why do you think paladins existed?"

"T-to…vanquish all that is evil in His name," answered Andrew.

"How would they realize they're being followed?" asked a soldier next to Philip, named Carlos.

"They won't…they're silent…fast hunters. They use the darkness…to their advantage," answered Kaname.

"You forgot one other detail, partner," said Philip.

"Which is..." inquired Kaname.

"That they were also enemies of each other," he answered.

Back over in the ruins, Dr. Reese and his research team lead the group deeper into the ruins floor by floor, until they reached on particular room that appeared to be a hallway. One of the new paladins was about to cross until he was stopped by Dr. Reese.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"What is it doc?" asked Patrick. "Looks like a regular hallway to me."

"The designers of this place would set traps to prevent any…raiders or treasure hunters from going any further," he answered.

"That's pathetic…there's no way this place could be…" began another paladin soldier who was also a newbie and stepped on a tile causing a spear to launch out from the walls and impale him on the opposite wall.

"Anyone else…dares to try?" inquired Dr. Reese.

"Alright…so how do we get through this doc?" asked Jason, holding up a flashlight over the doctor's notebook and looking over his left shoulder to get a better look at the notes.

"According to what I've found…it says that there's a certain sequence of tiles that need to be stepped on in a certain pattern in order to cross the river of spears and fangs," he explained.

"By fangs…I'm presuming he means spikes," guessed Patrick.

"That would be correct Captain," said Dr. Reese.

"So...how are we supposed to solve this thing?" asked Jason.

"Take a look," said Dr. Reese, pointing at the floor.

When he did, Jason noticed there was a series of letters that were scattered across the whole floor.

"What's the riddle?" asked Patrick.

"The name of a vampire that created from one who understood psychological warfare is needed to cross the river of spears and fangs," answered Dr. Reese.

"That would explain why one of the newbies was killed," said Patrick. "He stepped on..."

Jason noticed the shoe and slowly pulled it away...revealing the letter "C".

"It's obvious...the name has to be fictional," said Jason.

"Who's the person that understood psychological warfare?" asked another newbie paladin.

"The vampire's name should be familiar," said Patrick.

"Do you have the answer to that one?" he inquired.

"No...do you?"

"Actually...I think I do," said Jason. "If the letter that the person stepped on was 'C'...but doesn't start with it...then that means it would have to be a..."

He slowly extended his right leg to the nearest 'V' and waited as the others tensed up in case anything happened.

"Good guess Jason," replied Dr. Reese. "Do you know the rest of the name?"

"Vlad Tepes," he replied.

"However...this appears to be a two part answer. Jason already has the first answer...the question is...who's the other person?" asked Patrick.

Meanwhile...the helicopter that was carrying Philip, Kaname, Andrew, and a couple of other newbie paladins were currently setting down near the base of the ruins.

"So...what details did that professor share with you prior to the mission?" asked Andrew.

"Just one riddle to a puzzle," answered Kaname.

"What was it?" asked his partner.

"The name of a vampire that created from one who understood psychological warfare is needed to cross the river of spears and fangs," he replied.

"It's a two part answer," said Philip.

"Not exactly," said Kaname.

"A vampire named after a person who understood psychological warfare?" inquired Andrew.

"More like...inspired really," said Kaname. "It's a fictional one at that...however...the person himself was real."

"What were the names?" asked Philip.

"The first one I'm sure most people are familiar with...is Dracula," answered Kaname. "The second...the person who inspired the vampire...is Vlad Tepes. The first name was what he was referred to since he drank the blood of his killed enemies that were impaled on stakes...hence, this would have given the allusion that vampires can be killed with a stake through the heart."

"Which happens to be nothing more than a myth," added Philip.

"Precisely," said Kaname.

Back over at the ruins, Jason then explained to Captain Patrick as well as the other paladins about Vlad Tepes and how he tortured his victims, one was through the use of impalement on stakes, causing some of the new paladins soldiers to shudder at the disturbing thought.

"I'm impressed Captain Jason...you seem to have done your homework," said Dr. Reese.

"I just like to read history," he stated, as he continued on to find the remaining letters.

"Alright…everyone stay on the doctor's ass and don't deviate or lose sight. Also...watch your step," said Captain Patrick.

As Dr. Reese and his assistants slowly traversed across the hallway, some of the paladin newbies had some trouble following what sounded like a simple order. Either they almost accidentally stepped on the wrong floor tile or lost their balance and risked himself of getting killed or triggering a trap that would kill all of them. After about 20 agonizing minutes of having to navigate through the trap laced hallway, across a rickety bridge where another paladin soldier nearly fell, they eventually reached a door which appeared to have a puzzle within it.

"Oh great…more traps," said Maxton, a two year paladin veteran.

"No…not a trap…an interesting puzzle," said Dr. Reese. As he carefully read the weird writings on top of the puzzle, one of the newbies quickly whirled around and began looking around in a panic.

"What…someone afraid of the dark?" joked Jason.

"I thought I heard something sir," he replied.

"What…like we're being followed?" asked Maxton. "I doubt that's possible."

"So…what does it say doc?" asked Patrick.

"To get to the chamber of the elders, prove that you are one of their allies," answered the archaeologist.

"By solving the puzzle," realized Jason.

"I've never been one for puzzles," said Patrick.

"Luckily my colleague Dr. Ross has a knack for this sort of thing," answered Dr. Reese.

A young woman of about 22 with long black hair and brownish-red eyes and wearing glasses went over to the door with the puzzle.

One of the newbie paladins in the second platoon wolf whistled as he eyed her nice figure. "She's quite cute. She single doc?" he asked.

Jason elbowed the soldier and rebuked him. "Now is not the right time for such questions," he growled through his teeth.

The puzzle resembled that of having to put together a picture or symbol by sliding the tiles over and over till it formed the completed image. Dr. Ross had some trouble rearranging some of the tiles as she saw some of the tiles together formed what appeared to be a pendant picture. She constantly had to rotate some of the tiles around numerous times before she finally figured out the pattern and the arrangement. The team then tried to take the time they had to take a short break.

"By the way Dr. Reese…does Dr. Ross know how to solve tile puzzles?" asked Jason, leaning against the wall of the entrance leading to the chamber room.

"Usually when they're not as worn out, but that doesn't seem to be the case with this one," he replied.

"With ruins as old as these…I wouldn't be surprised considering this has probably been here for centuries," chimed in Maxton.

The group heard a hiss and then a rumbling sound of the doors before they slowly pulled apart and it revealed a round room with a staircase leading to something on a round platform.

"How long did that take you?" asked Jason.

"5 minutes," she replied.

"Funny…it felt longer than that," said Jason.

"Looks like this is it people. Stay sharp…there could be traps around here so watch your step," said Patrick.

"Talon 01, are you seeing this?" asked Jason on his com link to the first helicopter pilot, using the flashlight attached to his Heckler & Koch G36C.

"Roger Knight 02, we're seeing the exact same thing on our monitors," he replied.

As they slowly continued inside, the room itself was nearly pitch black save for a small beam of light at the roof that pointed down at what appeared to be a tomb according to the silhouette.

Unbeknownst to them…someone or something was watching from the shadows…slowly circling from the top of the room as well as below.

Jason's ears caught the faint sound of growling and immediately knew that they had either walked into a trap or that they weren't the only ones competing for what was in the tomb.

He then looked at Patrick and the two captains made eye contact that lasted for almost a couple of minutes as Jason mouthed 'Lycans' and then made a circle motion with his forefinger. Patrick looked up and around the roof and briefly saw pairs of shining eyes looking down at them. He then looked at Jason and mouthed 'Vampires' and did the same circle motion that Jason did. Jason then put his mouth near the com link on his left shoulder.

"Talon 02...how soon can you send backup?" asked Jason.

"We can send them in 5 minutes," said the pilot.

"Talon 02 that's 4 minutes too late," said Jason. "We've got contacts...and I mean a LOT of them."

"Well make it 50...stand by," answered the pilot.

Seconds later, something flew above them in the blink of an eye. One of the new paladin recruits suddenly began to panic.

"What was that?" he asked, clutching his AK47 tightly.

"What was what?" asked another next to him.

"Stay away!"

"Hold your fire, you'll give away our position!" shouted Patrick, but the panicked paladin wasn't listening and fired a few rounds into the dark.

"Everyone...get into defensive formation and provide cover fire. Make sure that research team gets to the artifact first before the others do," ordered Jason.

One of the soldiers in the second platoon named Rick, noticed something flying above them and threw a flash grenade out into the open.

"Flash grenade!" yelled out one of the paladins in the first platoon.

The rest of the paladins as well as the research team shielded their eyes from the bright blast until they heard what sounded like a screech and a growl about a second in between the two.

Seconds later, several vampires and lycans broke off from their stationary positions and began to confront both each other as well as the paladins. Swords clashing, guns firing, as well as paladins screaming from being torn apart by a lycan.

"Maintain defensive formation," ordered Patrick, as he blocked an incoming attack from a vampire's sword with his own.

Guns were blazing as paladins tried to wound or shoot down a werewolf or vampire, while swords kept flashing about even for a brief moment in the dark as metal made contact with metal. Slowly they ascended the stairs that would lead to the tomb. Werewolves were slowly coming at all sides while trying to fend off the vampires, while others were engaging them in swordfights.

The chamber had just erupted into complete chaos.

By the time the research team had reached the tomb, they had already lost almost more than half of their platoon. Patrick took a careful look at the design of the tomb and Dr. Reese noticed a puzzle within it.

The puzzle resembled that of having to move certain lined and squared blocks around so that it uncovered what appeared to be a picture.

"Looks like we need to solve this puzzle in order to fit some sort of key into a keyhole," he said.

"Well make it quick doc...we're running out of time, options, and ammunition," said Patrick.

Jason activated his night visor placed over his left eye and began shooting at whatever moved toward or near him and his team whether it'd be vampire or werewolf. He already finished two magazine clips and was about to reload when a nearby werewolf barely struck at his chest before being shot by one of his fellow paladin soldiers.

A paladin near the research team spotted an incoming energy projectile coming towards them and shouted "Look out!"

The blast itself sent the first platoon flying everywhere. Both sides then turned their attention to the now scattered paladins while they also kept fighting each other. One paladin got his head cut off from a vampire's blade, while another got hounded on by a couple of werewolves.

"We need back up! The enemy has got us scattered," shouted Jason into his com-link.

"Hurry it up," yelled one of the soldiers in the first platoon.

"We need 5 more minutes," said Dr. Reese.

"We don't have five minutes," shouted Patrick.

"Well then you'll just have to make some then," shot back the archaeologist.

Meanwhile, Philip gently tapped his partner who was currently in a meditative state when he slowly opened his eyes and asked his partner, "What is it?"

"We've been summoned," he replied.

"About time," he said, strapping his MP7 across his chest and his sword Vanguard on his back, while his partner strapped himself to a harness.

"Pilot...can you get us up at the roof of the ruins?" asked Philip.

"Yes sir we can," replied the pilot.

"Get us there as quickly as possible," ordered Kaname.

As the helicopter fired up its engine, Kaname then turned to Philip and asked, "Where do you think that will lead?"

"Well...if my hunch is correct...that roof we'll be landing on will lead straight down into the tomb chamber below," replied his partner.

"So how will we get in?" asked a paladin by the name of Carlos.

"We'll make an opening of our own," answered Kaname. "Anyone got any explosives on them? C4 perhaps?"

"I've got a couple of them," said Carlos, taking them out of his small pack and handing them to Kaname, along with the remote to detonate them.

"Thanks," he said.

By the time they reached their drop off point, Kaname then dropped the two packs of C4 precisely on the spot he intended to blow up, and then told the pilot to get to 30 feet in the air. He then said over his headset before pulling the trigger, "Fire in the hole." The shockwave of the explosion slightly rattled the helicopter, causing the pilot to fight for control for a brief moment. The hole itself however was big enough for the others to rappel down into.

Some of the bits of the ceiling that fell hit a few vampires and werewolves either dazing them or killing them. The bigger chunks from the blast definitely took out a few vampires and left a few other werewolves temporarily injured on their hind legs causing some of them to limp, making them easy prey for their ancient rivals.

"Alright…Andrew, Carlos…defensive formation; Philip on me…you know the drill," said Kaname, holstering his MP7.

"Injure, but don't kill…got it," said Philip, holstering his Benelli sub-machine gun.

"Why is that sir?" asked Andrew.

"Don't ask…just follow," replied Carlos, nudging him.

The helicopter pilot then gave the signal for the others to drop. "Okay…let's go, go, go!"

Andrew was the first to go down, and then Carlos and Philip took their positions.

The helicopter pilot then checked the two of them and asked, "You guys good to go?"  
>Philip gave him the OK sign until Carlos asked Philip, "What about your partner?"<p>

"He doesn't need one," he answered.

Carlos then stared at Philip in surprise. "What? He's going to jump at THAT height?"

Before anyone could stop Kaname, he then did a swan dive jump and then curled into a ball halfway for a few seconds before he went spread eagle to ease his fall.

"How does he…"

Philip then patted Carlos on the back. "Practice man…years of practice," he said, as he rappelled down, with Carlos following behind him.

"Hurry it up there doc…we're running out of rounds," yelled Patrick.

"Almost there…a few more seconds," said Dr. Reese.

"I'm afraid a few more seconds aren't what we have right now," said Jason, before he was suddenly taken by surprise from an oncoming werewolf and knocked down.

"Jason!" yelled out Patrick, as he was about to shoot the werewolf that knocked him down before a vampire swooped down and was about to stab Patrick, but not before a series of shots were fired from above as Kaname's team came down and joined the fight.

Kaname was the first to arrive, followed by Andrew, then Philip, and finally Carlos.

"It's about bloody time. We could use the backup," said Patrick, as he stabbed an oncoming werewolf with his sword.

"Is that the thanks we get for arriving to the party on time?" asked Philip, shooting at a couple of vampires as they tried to ambush them.

Kaname then took out a couple of flashbangs as Philip notified the others.

The research team, as well as the remaining paladins quickly closed their eyes as the flash grenades lit up the room temporarily blinding the vampires and werewolves. Kaname then put up his nighttime visor and began to attack. He jumped down from the chamber and unsheathed his sword shooting vampires and injuring werewolves with Vanguard as he went. The remaining paladin soldiers of both platoons managed to fend off the vampires and werewolves slowly but not before what appeared to be a female vampire loomed over them and fired the same attack from before knocking over the remaining paladin soldiers and Commander Patrick and Philip. After several minutes had passed, Kaname then spotted the one causing most of the havoc and was about to attack until a fleeing werewolf caught his attention.

"Hey wait…" he called out, running after it.

"Kaname…we're supposed to stick together!" shouted Patrick.

"Take care of the researchers…I'll be back," he yelled back.

Some of the vampires began to follow Kaname as he chased after the lone werewolf into a series of winding tunnels. Luckily for him, his eyes enabled him to see in the dark.

'Man…it's like these tunnels just go on in whatever direction,' thought Kaname.

The werewolf that was fleeing gave off a blue aura, according to how his eyes saw it.

'Weird…this one is either scared or apprehensive of something,' thought Kaname.

He could hear the faint screeches of the oncoming vampires and whirled around to face them. Kaname then let loose a full magazine cartridge from his MP7. The shots hit their targets and caused the oncoming vampires to fall down. Taking his amulet around his neck and placing the jewel within a small opening in the center of his sword, Kaname then chanted a spell which then caused the blade to glow and unleashed an energy blade attack which eventually drove back the vampires that was chasing him.

Once the vampires left, he turned his attention back to the werewolf which was now staggering trying to get away.

"Hey…what are you running for?" asked Kaname, as he slowly went closer.

The werewolf growled at him and tried to scratch him with his claws, yet Kaname took it as a means of it saying to "stay away".

"Easy now…I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know why you're running," said Kaname.

The creature didn't look at him for a few seconds before he saw the eyes change slightly from black…to a light blue color. Surprised, Kaname then put down his sword and gun.

"Look…I don't want to hurt you…I just want to help," he said.

The growling slowly began to die down as Kaname got close enough and took out a bandage to dress the creature's wounds.

After a couple of minutes…the werewolf wasn't as tense as it was before. Kaname then saw the aura change from blue to white…indicating that it calmed down.

"There you go," he said, as he stepped back a few steps before picking up his weapons and heading back. The werewolf temporarily looked at Kaname before leaving.

"Kaname where the hell are you? We're getting pinned down here…and the enemy has almost gotten us overrun," yelled Commander Patrick from Kaname's com-link.

"I'll be right there. Just hold on for a couple of minutes," he answered.

"You better get your ass down here or there won't be any more minutes left!" shouted the commander.

As Kaname slowly navigated his way through the tunnels, back over at the chamber room, the casualties started to slowly rise. Only several paladins remained, including Commander Patrick and Jason, Philip, Maxton, and Andrew. Carlos got impaled by a vampire's blade. The research team managed to solve the puzzle and found the key they were looking for and were currently trying to send the artifact back up to the helicopter that waited for them. The female vampire that launched plasma energy balls kept trying to destroy them. Several vampires kept trying to get near the group, but the platoon was barely holding.

"I don't think we can withstand another one of that vampire's attacks while the other ones kept sneaking up on us like that," said Philip, breathing hard and constantly trying to stall the enemy with his two P30 pistols.

"Talon 01 where the hell are you?" shouted Patrick.

"We've got your position, however we're also getting ambushed by vampires and are having trouble lowering the rope down to where you guys are," said the helicopter pilot.

"Is the artifact secured?" asked Andrew.

"Now it is," said Dr. Reese.

Some of the vampires that were trying to get close to the research team were hindered by the shots fired from the remainder of the paladin platoon.  
>A few seconds later, Philip saw the rope drop and ordered the research team to climb while he and the others provided cover fire. The female vampire was about to launch another attack to prevent them until a flash grenade suddenly rolled into the chamber room.<p>

"MOVE!" urged Philip to the research team.

"Shield your eyes," yelled Patrick, as he turned away from the oncoming flash, which blinded the vampires again and threw off the attack of the female vampire that appeared to be the leader of the group, causing it to hit a column where several dead vampires and werewolves laid.

"Who did that?" wondered Maxton, as he fired at some of the dazed vampires.

"Probably Kaname…attack the leader," said Jason, as he fired several rounds from his

As it turned out, Kaname made it back to the chamber room and noticed some vampires that charged towards him. He then jumped towards one of the oncoming vampires and used its body as a jumping platform to the next one and the next and the one after that until he reached the leader and unsheathing his sword, Vanguard slashed at the female vampire's back before kicking off from her and landing where Philip and the others were.

"Let's get a move on," said Kaname.

Patrick and Kaname provided cover fire as each slowly went up the rope while fending off the attacks of the vampires. The vampire leader was about to launch another attack to thwart the escape but Kaname already took out his sword with the jewel in the middle and began the same chant to cause the blade to glow with energy before unleashing his attack seconds before the female vampire leader had a chance to attack, stunning her and driving back a few of the vampires that kept trying to get at them.

When she regained her senses and looked around and realized they were going, her breathing went from tired to nervous as the remaining vampires gathered near her.

'Precia-sama is not going to be happy about this,' she thought.

After about 5 minutes passed, they were all above ground but were met with vampires that kept trying to ambush them while the helicopter kept trying to keep them at bay. Kaname looked over to his left and noticed a faint flashing light in the distance.

"Reinforcements are coming in," said Philip.

Sure enough, another helicopter armed with two gatling guns began pouring it on the vampires causing them to retreat allowing Kaname and the others to get back onto the helicopter.

"Raven 01…the artifact is secured," said Patrick to HQ.

"Roger Knight 01…good work; return to base."

"Roger, headquarters…returning now," said the helicopter pilot.

"Nice way to make an entrance," said Andrew, patting Philip on the back.

"Yeah…"replied Philip, who wasn't paying attention to him but looked at his partner with concern written on his face.

Kaname appeared to be off in his own mind after what had happened and his odd encounter with that fleeing werewolf.

'What is with that one I wonder?' thought Kaname.

"What the HELL was all that about? You run off in the middle of a fight and  
>leave us to take care of most of the vampires and werewolves?" yelled Patrick.<p>

"With all due respect…captain, if I wasn't around…you and your team would've been dog food or worse," said Kaname, bluntly.

"If you hadn't had those skills and been a regular paladin soldier I'd have you booted out in a heartbeat, soldier," growled Patrick.

"He's got a point there Commander. Without his skills and talents, you guys wouldn't last long against them," said Philip, stepping in.

"Last I recall…this had nothing to do with you," yelled Patrick.

"You should just be fortunate enough that you got what you came for and made it out alive," said Kaname. "Thanks to your efforts, that research team can analyze the artifact that was retrieved."

"Let it go Patrick. Kaname…you've been working your butt off a bit too long here. Take a load off, get some R & R. We'll take it from here," said Jason.

"In other words…you guys are just trying to find an excuse to get rid of me," said Kaname.

"That won't be necessary Mr. Zenryuu," said a voice. The rest of the guys turned to see a man who appeared to be in his early 40s with a thick beard and mustache.

"Commander Remington…" said Kaname, saluting. The others present in the hangar room followed suit.

"At ease," he said, walking over to Kaname. "You must be tired after that long fight. The researchers wanted to thank you and the rest of the team for your efforts…you in particular."

The commander then handed Kaname a small wooden box that had a small lock on it.

"What is it sir?" asked Kaname.

"You'll find out eventually," said Remington. "I suggest you follow their advice and take a little break. We'll notify you when another mission comes up. You're dismissed soldier."

Kaname and Philip gave salute as did the others that were present in the room as the commander left.

"What do you think it is?" asked Philip, following Kaname to the parking lot.

"I'll check on it when I have time. Right now…I need to go visit an old friend," said Kaname, taking out his keys and pushing a button which set off an alarm and walked over to his red motorcycle with white stripes on the sides.

"You don't mean over at that old bar…do you?" inquired Philip.

"Yeah…I do," said Kaname. "Want a drink?"

"Why not?" answered Philip, getting on his motorcycle.

The two made their way through Tokyo's noisy streets and managed to find a place to park their bikes and headed into the narrow spaces where a few bars were open. Kaname looked around and spotted one with a red rose with a martini cup flashing red lights.

"The Rosy Star…this place again?" asked Philip.

"Hey…I thought you said you wanted a drink," said Kaname.

Philip sighed and silently followed his partner inside the bar.

_***sighs* Talk about nearly exhausting...mentally at least. I had to look over my original chapter and then pick and choose which bits to keep and figure out where to insert the parts that I didn't get in that I'm doing right now. Anyway...I'm going to be looking over and editing nearly half of my original draft and then trying to do more research on certain weapons and the like...including firearms and their stats (firing rate, accuracy, etc.). By the way...I'll be doing the reference list (bibliography) at the end of this first part. If any writer's feel that I should do it at the end of each chapter instead, then I'll do a quick re-edit and put them at the end of the chapter.**_

**R/R onegaishimasu.**


	3. Chapter 2

**To those that have read at what I put in the prologue and seem a bit confused at what I put...yes...the girl that is mentioned happens to be Nanoha. My first OC, Kaname, happens to stumble across this girl later.**

**As for the creature that he saw in chapter one...he eventually finds out that it's not a lycan at all...but a Familiar...one that should be recognizable to Nanoha fans.**

**First off...before I go any further...I want to take the time to say kudos and give credit to Satashi whose fanfics have served as a catalyst for this one...particularly **_**Vampire Fate**_**, which I'm starting to really like as I read. Keep up the great work Satashi.**

Disclaimer: Same as I mentioned in the prologue. I only own the characters that I've created...nothing more.

**With that said...enjoy.**

**Chapter 2**: **Clue Searching & New Friends**

The atmosphere of the bar was pretty mellow and quiet. There were quite a lot of vacant chairs and tables and only several customers. A man who appeared to be in his mid 40s was playing at the piano.

Philip looked at his surroundings and was…least to say, surprised. The place also appeared to be a bit…cramped.

"There are hardly many customers here," said Philip. "And it's pretty small."

"If you're not used to it and are feeling claustrophobic, you can wait outside with our bikes," said Kaname, smirking.

"Ha, ha…very funny," retorted Philip.

"Well, well…if it isn't Mr. Silencer himself," said a scruffy voice.

The two of them turned to see a man who appeared to be in his 50s, with a grey beard, and wearing a faded blue vest.

"Good to see you Davis," said Kaname, taking his usual seat at the front bar.

"What can I get you boys?" asked Davis.

"Just my usual drink Davis," he said.

"What about for your partner?" asked Davis.

"I'll have whatever he's having," said Philip.

Kaname then leaned closer to Davis and was pretty close to his face when he also added, "I'll also need that information."

"Ah…that one I see…how bad is it?" inquired Davis.

"Last mission gave us quite a number of causalities. They _knew _we were coming for that artifact. One of the vampire elites probably sent one of their leaders and several skirmishes to follow us. However, they lycans were after it as well and we ended up fighting both sides," explained Kaname, barely even a whisper.

"Yet you managed to prevent that I presume," guessed Davis.

"Aye," replied Kaname.

"I'll go get your drinks and that information you requested," said Davis, as he left to get their orders.

After he left, Philip then grabbed Kaname by his cloak and slightly glared at him, aggravated.

"Did you seriously have to fill him in on all that has recently happened?" asked Philip.

"He's one of those few people that I'm able to trust," answered Kaname.

"How can you be so sure we can actually trust this guy?" he inquired.

"He actually gathers information the old fashioned way," said Kaname.

"And that would be…how?" asked Philip.

"From the streets…of course," answered Kaname.

Several minutes had passed since Kaname placed their orders. Philip looked around and saw that the place seemed pretty vibrant for a place that was small and mellow with the walls painted a bright red, several photos of people that have been to this bar were hung on the wall opposite of the bar. He then spotted a person that was wearing a pair of wool brown pants and a gray wool vest over a darkly colored flannel shirt. He also wore a gray, tweed Irish cap and was sitting over in a corner of the bar and he was staring in their direction.

"That fellow over there has done nothing but stare at you since we arrived(1)," said Philip, pointing to the individual in the corner.

Kaname looked carefully at the individual observing him from head to toe with a hint of curiosity before his ears heard incoming footsteps and turned to see his old friend coming back with their orders.

"Here's your drinks gentlemen," said Davis, placing it in front of them. However, Kaname then noticed the small piece of paper that was under his cup and placed it in the inner left pocket of his black vest.

"This is…" inquired Philip.

"Tomato juice, with black pepper, and a dash of vodka," he replied.

"His simplistic version of a bloody mary," clarified Kaname.

"You don't even know it," said Philip.

"He just makes what he has with what he's got at times. First time I tried it...I liked it," answered Kaname. "Just give it a try...you might learn to like it."

"If you insist," said Philip, taking a sip. After a few seconds, he licked his lips for a bit and said "It's not bad."

"See...I told you," said Kaname.

"Is this what you usually drink?" he asked.

"Hey…I like my vegetables," answered Kaname.

"I didn't mean to offend but…I was just…surprised, is all," said Philip.

Taking a sip from his cup, Kaname gave a satisfied sigh.

"Davis…you never cease to amaze me. You still maintain that small greenhouse at your place?" asked Kaname.

"Of course…I only get some of my own ingredients from there to help save money in case I need to go gather more from somewhere else," he answered.

"Fresh as usual…just how I like it," said Kaname, taking another sip. "You've really outdone yourself on this one."

"I appreciate the praise sir," said Davis, slightly bowing his head.

"I'm just curious though…that man over in the corner…who is he?" asked Philip, pointing.

"I'm not really sure though. Word is that this man used to be in league with a certain paladin branch till he had an argument with them somehow about something that he…well…cherished but that they saw different. Their prejudice is what caused him to leave that branch. Now he and his…friend, are not only on the run, but also targets that have been notified by all the branches in the world," explained Davis.

Kaname looked around the bar a bit and spotted a small carry-on box over at the corner and spotted faintly with the dimness of the lights the Japanese word "Midori".

"What's in there?" asked Kaname, pointing to the box.

"Oh...that? Just some pastries and bread," replied Davis.

"There's a bakery around here?" asked Kaname, looking interested.

"Yeah...just a few miles down," he replied. "I can give you the directions if you'd like."

"I'd appreciate it," said Kaname, as he took another sip of his drink.

As Davis went to write down the name of the cafe and put down the directions...Kaname then noticed the right hand of his partner was gloved and something appeared to be protruding from the finger between the middle finger and the pinky. His partner noticed and asked, "What is it?"

"It's nothing," said Kaname.

"Are you sure?" he pressed on.

"I'm sure."

"Sorry to keep you waiting...here's the directions and the name of the cafe," said Davis, handing Kaname a small slip of paper.

He unfolded it and was able to read out the Japanese characters. "Midori-ya cafe...interesting name," said Kaname.

"They have some good pastries there...you should give it a try," he suggested.

"We'll look into it, thanks," said Philip.

"You said that guy over there was being followed. What particular branches are looking for him?" asked Kaname.

"So far…the European Silver Gauntlet branch has sent a couple of their agents to track them down," said Davis. "There have been rumors that the American Iron Eagle branch is also on the lookout."

"Even if it's a rumor, it's something that should be overlooked," said Philip.

"Do they capture those leaking information about this…situation?" asked Kaname.

"So far…I've heard very little about that happening. However, I'll let you know if something comes up," said Davis.

"How does he usually do that?" asked Philip.

"By messenger bird," answered Kaname.

"You really ARE old fashioned," commented Philip.

"Hey…it's me," replied Kaname, chuckling.

"Excuse me gentlemen…" called out a voice.

The two of them turned to see that it was the person who was watching them that addressed them.

"He's been here longer before you two even showed up," said Davis.

"I see," said Philip.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation about your confrontation with vampires and lycans from earlier," said the stranger.

"Judging from the way you're dressed, I'd say you're either taking a break or are in disguise and in hiding from something or someone," assessed Kaname. "I'd say it's the latter."

"You're not wrong," he said.

"Do you happen to know any archivists around here?" asked Kaname.

"Maybe…" he replied.

"Is that a 'maybe I don't know any' or 'maybe there are some I do know'?" asked Philip.

"Depends on how you look at it," said the stranger.

"Look…whoever you are…me and my partner don't have time to play "20 questions". If you don't know any we'll just take our leave," said Philip.

"Someone is sure in a rush today," said the stranger.

"Calm down Philip…I'm sure the young man has his reasons for secrecy," said Kaname, placing a hand to stop his companion.

"Thank you," replied the stranger. "My name is Nicholas Reo. As you have no doubt have guessed…I am on the run…as well as searching for someone."

"A companion of sorts?" guessed Kaname.

"Well…sort of…yes and no; you see…she's… well…" began Reo.

"Oh…I'm sorry if I'm intruding on something private," said Kaname.

"I also happen to know an archivist around these parts…at least from what I hear on the street," said Reo.

"Ah…the old classic way of gaining information," said Kaname, sipping his tomato juice drink.

"You seem to know your way around here," said Philip. "I apologize for my rudeness from earlier."

"Apology accepted," said Reo.

"Reo…was it?" inquired Kaname. "I'm Kaname Zenryuu and this is my companion Philip."

"Pleasure to meet you both," he said, extending out a hand to which Kaname accepted.

"You said you knew an archivist around here…where exactly?" asked Kaname.

"He's actually…the only archivist around here. Apparently, he lives in some sort of library that has an underground entrance that is near some church," said Reo.

"I see. Do you happen to know any underground tunnels around here?" asked Philip.

"I'm afraid I only know one. Unfortunately, I don't remember where it is," said Reo. "However…I _do_ remember his name."

"And that would be…" began Philip.

"Yunno Scrya," answered Reo.

Kaname then turned to Davis and took out some money and placed it on the table when they had finished their drinks.

"Thanks for the information," said Philip.

"Do you happen to have a place to stay Reo?" asked Kaname.

"Kaname…if I may ask…" began Philip.

"Look Philip…the guy gave us some information that would be very useful. It only seems fair that we let him stay the night," he answered.

"To answer your earlier question…I don't, but I appreciate the offer," said Reo.

"Then hop on. Our place isn't exactly too far. Philip…let him ride with you. I'll keep a lookout for anything out of the ordinary," ordered Kaname.

"Alright…get on," said Philip.

Reo sat behind Philip as Kaname went ahead first before he and Philip followed. Kaname then kept looking left & right for a few brief seconds while keeping an eye on the front to make sure there were no surprises as they went to their living quarters.

"So…how far is it?" yelled Reo over the roar of the motorcycle engine.

"It's pretty close to the Shibuya district," answered Philip.

Everything seemed to be going OK until Kaname heard a faint, but clear swoosh sound and gave a quick glance up and saw a blonde girl wearing a cape with red showing on one side that was flying ahead of them.

'A blonde vampire...or not? Wonder what she's in a hurry for?' pondered Kaname, as he rode on.

However…what really surprised him was that upon flying over them something dropped into his lap. Putting the item in his pocket, Kaname increased the throttle as they were about to approach an intersection and made a hard right turn upon reaching it. The individual that flew past them had already left the scene which really bewildered Kaname.

Fate Testarossa was just heading back to the coven that her mother Precia was in charge of. Despite being what she was...Fate was considered one of the best in the coven. However...some of the other members began to notice the way that Precia was acting towards her and even Fate's mentor, Vercossa was slowly harboring some doubts about her ability to lead. As she passed another alleyway...she noticed someone grab a young girl off the sidewalk with blinding speed.

"How typical...another one of my kind...and a fledgling no doubt," she said, sighing with annoyance, as she landed on a nearby rooftop of an old apartment. Slinking ever so slowly like a cat about to pounce, Fate watched as the newly turned vampire was already halfway into what he was doing. This one was obviously going to try and force this girl. Just as his fangs protruded out, within a fraction of a second, Fate made her move.

As she leapt from the rooftop and landed near the fledgling vampire, he stopped and looked at Fate who was slowly approaching her. Looking pissed that his fun was just ruined, he left the victim and began to try and attack Fate. However, just as quickly she appeared, the new vampire blinked a few times trying to look for her, until she struck from behind with her weapon and then fangs out, sank her teeth into him. To a possible passerby, it would have appeared Fate was strangling someone. She spit out the blood from the newborn, utterly disgusted, and looked at the victim lying on the floor.

Fate wasn't one that showed any interest in the victims she chose...however, the encounter with the girl she came across that night would change everything. Blue eyes looking upon red ones, her slender figure quivering either from fear or the cold. Fate knelt down and looked at Nanoha with a sense of curiosity as she held out a hand and touched her cheek, causing Nanoha to cringe slightly.

Just as Fate leaned closer to Nanoha's neck and inhaled her scent, she felt herself suddenly being pushed back by an unknown force. However, Fate's eyes being open spotted a hint of a pink aura as she was forced back. Slightly dazed, she shook it off and looked at the young girl who seemed to have fainted. Fate was a vampire that also rarely showed any signs of pity but...despite what she did earlier, she decided to make her an exception.

Carrying her gently, Fate then found herself near a bakery and made the presumption that this was where the girl was heading to. She spotted a nearby tree and leapt to the branch with an almost cat-like grace, and placed Nanoha in her bed and gave her one more long look before she left.

Once near the Shibuya district, they made a quick right into an alleyway. Kaname and Philip then slowed down their bikes till they reached a trash disposal.

"You're kidding me right…it's here?" asked Reo.

"Not here…but under it," corrected Philip.

"Under this area…seriously?" inquired Reo.

"Yes Reo…seriously," answered Kaname, as he faced the brick wall in front of him and tapped several blocks in a sequenced order with the hilt of his sword. Seconds later, the trash disposal bin beside them moved to the side revealing a hidden staircase.

"Impressive," said Reo.

Kaname and Philip then guided their bikes down the staircase as Reo followed from behind as the trash disposal bin then moved back into its original spot.

Several light bulbs lit the hallways every 4 to 5 feet. The walls were mostly solid ground that had hardened and looked like clay. Even though it felt slightly damp, the atmosphere for the most part was quite cold. The garage was on the left side as they passed a two way junction that branched off in the middle.

"Quite a complex base you have here," said Reo.

"We do what we can," said Kaname, as Philip went to put away their bikes.

Eventually they reached the area to the main living quarters, which had a door that had a strange combination lock. It resembled a few thin circle knobs that had strange writings on it and what appeared to be a picture of the sun. Kaname slowly turned the circle knobs while Reo waited behind him.

"Can you understand the writings on there?" asked Reo.

"For the most part…they resemble Roman numerals," he answered.

By the time Kaname finished putting the combination in, Philip then came back with a small thick robe and gave it to Reo.

"Thanks," said Reo, taking the robe.

"No problem…it can get cold here sometimes," said Philip.

"I'm used to it," he said.

Kaname then turned over the center circle which then had a picture of the moon and pressed it down. There was a slight rumble as the door opened to reveal what appeared to be a gigantic round room that had a large circumference. It was roughly 80 feet in width and 100 in height. The room had two floors which were connected by a series of stairs. There was a monitor that resembled that of a television on the left, a round table in the center with a long red couch behind it. Two black leather chairs were set in between the couch. A sparring room was on the right side of the room and a series of computer screens and a large keyboard was in the back of the room. On the second floor was a small smithery and in the middle of the room was the armory. On the top left in the second floor was a shelter and on the top right was a spiral staircase.

"Very impressive," said Reo, slightly taken at the large room.

"This is what we would use whenever we're not called upon by the Fire Phoenix branch," explained Philip.

They don't think they're being monitored however…we keep track of some things that go on there without them noticing," said Kaname.

"Isn't that pretty much spying on them?" inquired Reo.

"Recently, Kaname's been having a suspicion that someone might have tipped off one of the two sides about the artifact. Apparently, there has also been word going on about a mysterious group that has been monitoring the movements and activities of both lycans and vampires," explained Philip.

"Aren't paladins supposed to be dealing with them?" asked Reo.

"That may be true however…" began Kaname before stopping abruptly.

"What is it?" asked Philip.

"Something was…entirely different during the assault in the chamber room," said Kaname.

"How so? They seem to act as they normally do," said Philip.

"Not from how I saw them. Their…auras were…completely different. Red refers to anger, white for calm, blue for hesitation / fear…but, this time…I saw gray," said Kaname.

"Gray? What do you suppose that refers to?" wondered Reo.

"Something was totally off about their actions. They were like…newborns…barely out of their starting stages," said Kaname.

"How exactly can you be sure?" asked Reo.

"His eyes, Reo. They're unlike a regular human being's. He's definitely not human. Now…as to how to ascertain as to what he is…well…it's going to take quite some time," answered Philip.

"You said there was something off about them…perhaps they were assessing something," guessed Reo.

"If they were…it was in a really odd manner," said Philip.

"There was something else as well," said Kaname.

"What else?" asked Philip.

"I saw something...glinting...as though there was something on its head," said Kaname. "Like a jewel of some sort."

"Perhaps the archivist can help you with that," said Reo. "Or perhaps your magus can."

"A what?" wondered Kaname.

"Oh...you didn't know?" inquired Reo. "That would explain the glove on your partner's right hand."

"You saw it?" asked Philip.

"Philip...what's going on?" inquired Kaname.

"Remember the time we first met each other and you saw a projection of knights with swords?"

"How could I not forget? I thought they were just projections," answered Kaname.

"Actually...it was real magic," said Reo. "You're partner is one of those individuals of a small group that were used by paladins back then."

"If that's true...then how do you explain about the vampire that was using yellow projectiles at us?" asked Kaname.

"She is one as well," said Reo. "I'm sure that the archivist Yunno can explain what a magus is better than I can."

Kaname then took out of his vest pocket the piece of paper that Davis had placed under his cup when they were over at the bar earlier and unfolded it to reveal a picture. The picture resembled that of a cross and a rose design drawn within the other. What he also spotted was that only one half of the picture had its background colored, while the other remained as it was. Kaname was taken by surprise for a few seconds before slowly pulling back the black glove on his right hand, which revealed the same picture.

'It can't be…someone has the same picture as I do?' thought Kaname.

"How do I find this church that you speak of?" asked Kaname.

"Look for a grave with a double-shaded flower," answered Reo.

"That sounds like a riddle," said Philip.

"More like a grave mark indicator of sorts," said Kaname. "The actual living quarters are actually above here. Philip…would you mind giving our friend a tour while I go gather some information?"

"Sure thing," said Philip. "If you'll please follow me, I'll show you where you'll be spending the night."

As Reo followed Philip, Kaname then went over to the armory room to go switch his weapons from an MP7 to two Beretta 93Rs and placed them in his arsenal belt which sat right next to an SA80. Wrapping the arsenal belt around his waist, there were several pockets that held either additional magazines depending on the gun or guns he brought with him to flash and incendiary grenades. There was also a small knife in the back of the belt that Kaname always carried with him. After prepping up, he then opened up a drawer on the table where the SA80 was set down and picked up a couple of magazines that had different bullets on them.

'It would suck if I killed a vampire or lycan when my intention is to injure but not kill,' thought Kaname, as he heaved a deep sigh and placed the magazines into one of the many pockets on his arsenal belt and left the armory and went to the garage to his motorcycle. Placing on his helmet, he then hit a button on the side of his helmet which activated a visual screen that displayed a targeting system, a small map on the top right corner, a small radar, and speedometer on the middle bottom.

"Welcome back sir. How may I be of assistance?" said a computerized voice.

"Good to hear from you again DATS; begin search for a church that has a possible gravestone with a double-shaded flower insignia," ordered Kaname.

He then opened the throttle on his bike and went out of a tunnel that stretched for miles till he came out of another alleyway that was gated by a brick wall. It took several minutes for his computer to process the data until it quickly narrowed down the results and showed Kaname the highlighted pathway on his visor. Following the directions while passing oncoming cars and trucks, Kaname kept his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary.

'Looks like the night life has begun,' he thought as he passed by places that were lit by neon lights. The beeping sound coming from his helmet indicated that he was getting close to his destination. Upon arriving on the next stoplight, Kaname, made a hard left on his bike and then came across what appeared to be a distinctively old looking church from the outside but had beautiful glass art in the center of it. There were several small arches below it which had small glass paintings in them as well as several statues that appeared to resemble that of angels.

Dismounting from the bike, Kaname then used a flashlight when he came across a plated sign at the gate and found that according to his computerized visor that he arrived at his destination.

"St. Andrews Church huh…interesting for an archivist to be living around here, unless he's into ancient history which could be the case," said Kaname, as he read the sign.

Parking his bike near the gate and placing his helmet on the right handle, Kaname then placed one of his Beretta 93Rs in his left vest pocket while placing his thick cloak over his head. Upon arrival, he spotted a hooded monk waiting at the front door of the church.

"You're right on time sir. The archivist has been expecting you," he said, in a slight deep voice.

"Has he now? Well I better not keep him waiting then. Can you please show me the way, friar?" asked Kaname.

The monk then slowly opened the doors as Kaname slowly walked inside the church. The interior of the church appeared to be well maintained, as Kaname could see the marble floors were quite polished that he could see the lights from the lanterns hanging above the pews. There were several spots where there were statues of saints and other religious figures.

"The pathway is to your right," said the monk.

Kaname looked to his right which resembled that of a confessional booth, yet upon opening the doors he then spotted what appeared to be several bricks that had a sequence of numbers like his underground base of operations. He spotted the monk next to him and saw him input the code and the hidden door next to the combination lock opened revealing a spiral staircase. Kaname then slowly walked down as the monk lit nearby torches with a match to help guide his way down. The atmosphere itself felt similar to his underground base until he reached the end of the stairs and found what appeared to be a wooden door close to where the stone spiral staircase was.

"He's through there," replied the monk.

Kaname gave a quick sigh as he slowly approached the door and was about to thank the monk for guiding him down when he turned back but saw that he was nowhere to be found.

"Hmm…odd," said Kaname, as he reached the door and gave a couple of knocks. He could hear the sound of falling papers and someone who appeared to be scrambling to pick them up.

"Be right there," said a voice, faintly.

'For an archivist he sure seems to have a lot of information that he's having trouble keeping together,' thought Kaname.

After waiting for approximately five minutes, the door opened to reveal a young man that had long blonde hair, light green eyes, was wearing glasses, a green vest with faded gold lining at the edges, and a light brown cloak.

"You must be Kaname Zenryuu," said Yunno.

"You're not wrong. You must be the archivist I've been hearing about," said Kaname.

"That's right. I'm Yunno Scrya by the way," he said. "What kind of information are you looking for?"

"What do you know of vampires and werewolves besides the fact that they exist?" asked Kaname.

"Why would you want to know about them?" asked Yunno.

Kaname then took out the small piece of paper that he was given at the bar and showed it to Yunno.

"Do you recognize that symbol?" asked Kaname.

Yunno looked long and hard at it for a brief moment before shaking his head. "I don't recognize it and I know very little about it."

"What do you know about it?" asked Kaname.

"Only that it's a symbol that belonged to a royal family and that usually if there was another that had the mirror of that image that they're actually siblings," answered Yunno.

Kaname was taken by surprise at the sudden revelation and then removed his right glove, surprising Yunno completely. Yunno's "workplace" looked pretty old and medieval. There were a few bookshelves with books which were caked with dust. Several cobwebs were hanging at the corners of the room and a couple of lanterns were lit which gave the room enough light to read. A couple of study desks were near the lanterns and the chairs seemed sturdy enough to sit on. There were a couple of stacks of other books next to the bookshelves that were also caked with dust.

"I wasn't sure about the connection but…I also had this as well," said Kaname, removing the amulet that is around his neck. It's design seemed very intricate, with symbols and what appeared to be the body of a dragon which seemed to be wrapped around half of the center of the pendant which had a diamond on it.

"Where did you get that?" asked Yunno, who looked quite surprised.

"I was told from my foster parents that it once belonged to my grandmother," answered Kaname. "Do you recognize it?"

"I had a book here once that had details of this but, there's not much that it said about it," he replied. "I apologize for how my workplace looks."

"There's no need…although I must say…you certainly collect a lot of books," said Kaname.

"I'm an archivist and archaeologist…there's a reason why I need lots of books to do my research," said Yunno.

"Point taken," replied Kaname. "What exactly can you recall that is mentioned about the amulet?"

"Only that what you have in your possession is one of four fragments and that when put together form some sort of key," answered Yunno.

"I see," said Kaname. "Do you mind if I take a look at some of the books?"

"Oh please…help yourself," offered Yunno.

"Oh…by the way…some stranger dropped this into my lap as I was heading over here," said Kaname, taking out the small piece of white cloth with the hidden object. As he unfurled the cloth, his eyes went wide like the wheels on his bike. The object in his hands was a small curved piece that felt like metal that had some strange design resembling eyes and fangs in between a wavy line. "I don't believe it."

"That's one of the fragments I was talking about earlier," said Yunno.

"But who could have possessed it?" wondered Kaname.

Meanwhile, in a dark, damp underground abandoned railway was a pathway that led to a cave. A small figure entered and went down the depths of the cave till it reached a coliseum like room. The figure turned out to be a female vampire who had long blonde hair and red eyes, wore a black cape that had red on the other side and had strapped behind her back a long sword with a yellow crystal in the middle.

Shouting, hissing, and yelps of pain could be heard within the room as the vampire walked closer to the opening and saw her mother rebuking one of the leaders. She had red hair, blue eyes, was wearing black armor, and a black cape. The one running the entire vampire clan had long black hair, and purple eyes, and was wearing a long purple cloak and dark red armor with a red stone gem in the middle of her breastplate.

"I sent you on a simple task to retrieve that artifact and yet you come back with nothing!" she shrieked.

"We didn't realize that many paladins would be trying to secure the artifact with that research team in the way Precia-sama," replied the leader.

"You had superiority in numbers Vercossa and you could have easily disposed of them," shot back Precia.

"Our werewolf enemies had us also occupied. Neither side could get close without being shot at," answered Vercossa.

The entire clan was chatting and hissing amongst themselves upon hearing their eternal enemy before Precia gave a loud hiss that echoed throughout the cave.

"I grow tired of your lame excuses. Just be fortunate that I've decided to not kill you right then and there. Get out of my sight before I change my mind," said Precia, turning her back on Vercossa.

"Surprisingly mother…there was one individual that was _not_ a paladin among them," said a voice.

Some of the vampires looked up and saw the blonde female vampire waiting at the top.

"Fate…where have you been?" asked Vercossa.

"I was just out…and about," she replied simply, as she gracefully leapt off the top and landed at the bottom of the room.

"One that is not a paladin…you say?" asked Precia, curious.

"That's correct mother. It was evident in his…skills, particularly his eyes," answered Fate.

"What about them?" asked Vercossa.

"They were unlike a humans; it was silver…like the moon," explained Fate.

"Perhaps he's a werewolf," suggested Vercossa.

"I doubt that a werewolf would be part of a team of paladins," said Fate. "There was…something, strange about this one."

"What could be stranger than having eyes like that?" inquired Vercossa.

"SILENCE," hissed Precia. "What was it about this individual that caught your curiosity?"

"He only seems to injure while the others kill, although there were a few others by his side that followed his methods," answered Fate.

"What's even more interesting is that he spared me," said another voice.

The entire clan began to chatter amongst themselves before Precia called for silence once more, causing the chatter to die down in an instant. From the shadows, a young wolf-like woman that appeared to have red ears and a tail as well as a gem in the middle of her forehead appeared before them.

"Arf...you're back," said Fate.

"Seems like someone tried to help you," said Vercossa, looking at the Familiar's bandaged leg.

"Interesting news," said Precia. "Vercossa, Fate…I have a new mission for you. Follow this…individual and monitor him. Do NOT harm him…I want to know what he's capable of."

"Of course mother," said Fate, getting down on one knee.

"As you wish m'lady," answered Vercossa.

"As for you...I need you to keep your distance as you accompany Fate," said Precia, looking at Arf.

"Very well," she replied.

The three of them left the cave at once with several other vampires in tow. As Precia went back to lie in her coffin, a sudden thought occurred to her.

'It appears that someone is poking their noses into places where they should not. Yet this individual might prove to be quite useful,' she thought, with an evil smirk on her face before the coffin lid slid closed.

Back over in the archives, Kaname was doing some research of his own alongside Yunno, the archivist. He was currently looking up a book that contained information about a particular group of creatures that he thought wasn't possible.

"This is interesting. I've heard my share of these kinds but never thought they existed," said Kaname.

"What are you looking at?" asked Yunno.

"There appears to be a group of creatures…or something of that sort that have been targeted by paladins before they knew of the existence of vampires and werewolves. Yet they somehow vanished when the vampires and werewolves made their presence known," explained Kaname.

"You mean beastmen," answered Yunno.

"Beastmen?" repeated Kaname.

"There was something about them that I once read about. Some sort of event occurred which caused humans to become part man and part beast. The only thing was…they were more beast than human, yet could stand on two legs," explained Yunno.

"That's strange. I'm guessing there are very few that are left," said Kaname.

"So it would appear."

"I appreciate your help Yunno. Right now, I've got to head back to report my findings," said Kaname.

"I understand," said Yunno.

"By the way…you hardly stay in one place I presume," inquired Kaname.

"You're right about that. As soon as I'm gone…I take all my stuff with me. Who knows…we might cross paths again," said Yunno.

"Perhaps," said Kaname, as he left the room. He heard a slight whoosh of wind and a sudden popping sound before he opened the door again and found it completely empty.

'I guess he wasn't kidding after all,' he thought.

As Kaname mounted his bike and was prepared to leave, he heard someone's scream pierce the night.

"That's not good," he said, as he throttled his motorcycle and activated the visor on his helmet. "DATS…did you confirm that?"

"Affirmative sir; the scream was heard about a mile from where you are currently at, not too far from the Shibuya district," it replied.

"With the city being that busy and loud at times, not many would have heard it. Even worse, it could be something that they wouldn't comprehend," realized Kaname, as he went towards the source of the scream. Unbeknowst to him however, he was being watched by two individuals in the sky.

The path eventually led him to a dark alleyway that was not too far from the busy area. Kaname then took off his helmet and his eyes suddenly glowed silver which enabled him to see in really dark places. The area itself looked like a black and white outline and then he saw two individuals. One emitted a blue aura while another emitted a pink one.

Kaname sighed and shook his head. "Pink…not one of my usual favorites. Obviously someone lusting after a female," he said, as he pulled out his knife from the back of his belt.

He noticed that the girl's clothes were slightly ripped apart as she struggled to get away. Just when the individual was about to go further, Kaname then placed his knife near the guy's throat.

"If you value your life, you will leave this girl alone and get out of here," growled Kaname.

The individual turned and faced him. Kaname, then noticed the aura changed from pink to red in a second but there was something else as well. He looked into the person's eyes and saw they were red as well.

'Shit…one of my own kind of all things; and it doesn't seem too long ago either. This one should be no problem,' thought Kaname.

The vampire then growled at Kaname and said stuff about how he was going to enjoy devouring him. He just smirked and said to him, "You're welcome to try."

The vampire charged at him with a s sword in hand ready to strike, but Kaname was too quick and reacted before the vampire could land a strike and slashed at the vampire's limbs and cut off his right hand with the sword. He yelled in pain and tried to hit Kaname again, but this time Kaname pulled out the Beretta 93R from his left vest pocket and pointed it at the vampire and shot him in the arm where he chopped off the sword. This time, the vampire crumpled and screamed even louder in pain as a sharp, burning sensation ran through his arm as it slowly began to wither away.

Fate observed from a distance with Vercossa and was surprised when she saw the round that was fired from Kaname's gun.

"How could this individual have a round that can gravely injure vampires?" wondered Vercossa.

"This one appears to be a special case, sensei," said Fate.

"Leave now…while I'm still able to show mercy; but know this…you dare to harm another individual or even my friends…and I won't hold back," said Kaname, turning to assist the scared victim.

He then noticed the girl was not human when he spotted the ears pointing from her head and the tail from her back. She was wearing a white dress that was now slightly torn from the vampire's assault attempt. She had blue hair and her eyes were the same color.

'So…this is what he meant,' realized Kaname. 'It's a female no doubt.'

"Um…th-thank you…whoever you are," she said.

"It's alright…I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a friend," said Kaname. "Come on…we should get out of here before you catch a cold." He then placed his cloak around her as she held onto him as Kaname's motorcycle sped off and went back to his place where Reo was already situated and Philip was down in the underground section.

Kaname then turned on his visor and attempted to call his partner.

"Philip, are you there?" asked Kaname.

"Just managed to have Reo situated for the night," answered Philip, looking through on one of the computer monitors.

"I've managed to gather some useful information from the archivist and…I think we got another visitor we need to take care of," said Kaname.

"I can go and make the preparations before you get back here," offered Philip.

"No, get some warm water, a clean wash cloth, a blanket, and some pillows," barked Kaname.

"You got it," said Philip, as he went to get the items.

As Kaname left on his motorcycle with the beastwoman holding onto him, Fate, Vercossa, and her Familiar Arf looked on for a brief moment.

"Do you see him as a threat, Fate?" asked Arf.

"He seems to be annoyed with his own kind...ironically...despite the fact that a majority of the ones that are appearing are more than likely fledglings. We're supposed to be controlling them and yet they easily try to slip by," she replied.

"So what do we do?" asked the Familiar.

"We follow our orders...keep a low profile. We don't want him to suspect anything yet," said Vercossa.

By the time Kaname got back, the beastwoman was already fast asleep on his shoulders. He carefully picked her up and placed her on the couch. Philip came back with the pillows, blanket, and wash cloth.

"Isn't this…a beastwoman?" inquired Philip, as he looked on the catgirl's sleeping form.

"Yes…it is," replied Kaname, as he placed the blanket over her.

"How did you find her?" asked Philip.

"I heard her scream as she was about to be…raped…by a vampire," answered Kaname.

"From a vampire? Great scott…that's unheard of," said Philip.

"I know. However, what's important now is that we try and keep these two under our care for the time being. I think Reo himself and this catgirl are the ones that are being targeted," explained Kaname.

"How are we to explain this to the other branches?" asked Philip.

"Simple…we just tell them that we picked up a couple of victims from attacks on vampires and that they're currently under our supervision until we can contact the proper authorities," answered Kaname.

"Do you really think they'll buy that?" asked Philip.

"We already have enough on our plate as it is. We don't want them to complicate things any further than it already has," said Kaname. "Which reminds me…I managed to speak with the archivist Yunno about some of the findings I came across."

"And…what did he say?" inquired Philip.

"The fragments that I have appear to form some sort of key. He's not sure as to what it unlocks but that there are four of them. We're nearly there," explained Kaname.

"Which means there's only one or two pieces left," guessed Philip. "What do you think it forms?"

"I don't know," said Kaname.

"Did this occur as we were heading back with Reo?" asked Philip.

"So it would appear," answered Kaname.

"Who do you think gave this to you?" asked Philip.

Kaname was silent for a brief moment before shaking his head and stroking his chin. "I'm not sure…Philip. I'm not sure."

(1): **That small segment I couldn't help but take reference from** _LoTR: The Fellowship of the Ring_ **as I was writing that bar sequence. Of course the credit goes to director Peter Jackson for that**.

I apologize if this might appear to not be to anyone's liking and I'm looking over my original draft as much as possible and trying to divide the attention. The editing process is going to be a while for the other chapters, until I reach a certain chapter at the halfway point.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3****: ****On the Hunt**

It had been just about five minutes since Reo's beastman girlfriend Subaru, was brought in by Kaname. Philip was at the monitors checking for anything out of the ordinary, even though it was daytime at the moment while Kaname was over in the sparring room practicing. Reo had been keeping an eye on Subaru ever since she was brought in and noticed that she slowly started to stir a bit.

"Mm…hmm…wh-where…am I?" wondered Subaru, slowly opening her eyes and was surprised to see Reo sitting beside her.

"Good to see you're awake, love," said Reo.

"R-Reo!" cried out Subaru with joy as she embraced him.

"I'm glad you're alright Su'ru," said Reo, calling her by her pet name.

Philip turned the chair slightly and saw the whole thing and gave a slight chuckle. Kaname had just finished practicing and walked over to where Philip was over at the monitors, wiping the sweat off his face.

"Have you managed to establish contact with headquarters?" asked Kaname.

"So far…no luck; I've been waiting for Captain Jason about 10 minutes now…he should have gotten my message about what you've discovered," said Philip.

"And the researchers and Dr. Reese?" inquired Kaname.

"Same result. Either they've been put under tight security or some of the guys just hate your guts," said Philip.

"I could say the feeling's mutual on them as well since Captain Patrick was being such a damn jerk. You'd think the guy could show _at least_ a little appreciation," said Kaname.

"She looks a bit exhausted," said Philip.

"Probably just trying to get something to eat," guessed Kaname.

Seconds later, the computer started making some beeping noises which caught their attention.

"Incoming transmission," said the computer.

"Patch it through," said Kaname.

The monitor then revealed Commander Remington over at headquarters at his main office. Both Kaname and Philip gave a respective salute.

"What is it Commander?" asked Kaname.

"I just wanted to let you know that the artifact we recovered over at the ruins is safely in the researchers hands, but it's taking a while to figure out the contents," he said.

"That's a relief," said Philip.

"However...I'm curious about one thing," said Commander Remington.

"What is that sir?" asked Kaname.

"We've just received word that a couple of fugitives are probably within the area and are wondering if you've heard of their whereabouts," he replied.

"What branch did you hear this from?" asked Philip.

"We don't know many of the details but...it appears that one of them has gone rouge and we were notified by the European branch," answered the commander.

"Is that all you wanted to contact me about sir?" asked Kaname.

"Well...no...there is one more thing I wanted to tell you about," he said. "Although you may not like it."

"I'm willing to lend an ear sir," said Kaname.

After receiving word about a sudden vampire attack as well as rumors that the victim has potential for being a magus, Commander Remington filled Kaname in on the details as to what occurred and told him about the school the girl attends was a private one.

"Wait a minute sir...correct me if I'm wrong on this...you're telling me...to attend that same school...and keep an eye on her? Am I hearing this right?" inquired Kaname.

"You heard right. Until we receive further notice, you are to keep a low profile and don't let them know you work for this branch. I've sent a friend of Dr. Ross to send you the details and also the enrollment and the fees have already been taken care of," said the commander.

"Are you trying to pull my leg commander?" asked Kaname.

"No...I'm serious," he replied.

"Philip...until we find out the reason for this girl being targeted, you'll have to take up Kaname's share and also keep a low profile. We don't need a mass panic on our hands."

"Yes sir," replied Philip.

"Understood...sir," said Kaname, slightly turning red.

"I know this may appear to be...out of your comfort zone but...think of it as a new experience...an adventure," said Remginton, trying to soften the blow.

"Sir?" wondered Kaname.

"Anyway...I've got another meeting with some of the other generals in the war room. Best of luck you two," he replied.

After the monitors went off, Kaname cursed under his breath and groaned in annoyance.

"I can't BELIEVE this," he shouted, pounding his fists near the keyboard.

"If you think that's bad...I've been through worse," said Reo.

"Am I supposed to take that as your way of trying to console me or are you just trying to add more salt to the wound?" growled Kaname.

"Take it easy partner...at least you can get a bit of a break from all this. I could just act like I'm your cousin and that you're staying with me for a while," suggested Philip.

"I'll give this a try," said Kaname, sighing as he accepted his new fate.

Seconds later...Kaname faintly heard the doorbell ring upstairs and quickly went ahead to answer it.

"We'll leave you two for a bit to...catch up," said Philip, following his partner upstairs.

By the time Kaname reached the door, he took a quick glance at the peephole and saw a young female that had light green hair and purple eyes, was wearing glasses, and a paladin soldier uniform.

"Ah...you must be the friend of Dr. Ross," said Kaname.

"Yes...I am. My name's Minako Suzuki," she replied.

"Nice to meet you Ms. Suzuki," he answered, shaking her hand. "I'm Kaname Zenryuu."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Zenryuu," she said, returning the handshake. "Oh...and who's your accomplice?"

"My name's Philip, m'am," he said.

"Nice to meet you Philip," she said.

"Oh please...do come in," said Kaname, stepping aside. "Would you care for some tea?"

"Oh...of course...I'd love to," she said, setting her brown work bag near the table.

As Philip went to the kitchen to make tea, Kaname and Minako sat down as she pulled out the file containing the details of what his 'assignment' would entail. Kaname looked over the details with a not too enthusiastic reaction.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Sort of," he answered. "How long exactly will I be there?"

"They'll let you know when something comes up," she replied.

"In other words...it's still undetermined," clarified Kaname, to which he received a slight nod, and sighed in annoyance.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said Philip, as he returned with the tea and placed it in the middle.

"Thank you," she replied, as Philip poured some into the cups. She took a quick whiff of the aroma and sighed in content. "Jasmine I presume."

"Yes...it's Kaname's favorite," he said.

"Did you really have to mention that?" asked Kaname, with an arched eyebrow, causing Minako to chuckle.

"I'll go bring some downstairs to our visitors," said Philip, heading towards the living room and back downstairs.

Seconds after Philip had left, the doorbell rang again, causing Kaname to look out from the window to see a delivery truck pull up. He opened the door and saw two boxes lying near the delivery man's feet. After Kaname signed for the packages, he then brought them inside and set them near the living room. Looking at the long box, he slowly opened it and found a small letter among air filled bags which were supposed to cushion the content or contents in a package. The message was simple.

_'Your father would have wanted you to have this...I found it only befitting that it should pass from father to son. Take good care of it.'_

_ - Luke_

"Who's Luke?" wondered Kaname, out loud.

"He was a good friend of your father...despite being what he was," said Minako.

"You've heard of him?" he inquired.

"Yes...he's still alive as well," she said.

"How do you know?" asked Kaname.

"He's a lycan...who also happens to be a pack leader in Europe," said Minako. "He also happens to be the younger brother of one who tried to protect your father from the King of the Crimson Quartet."

"How do you know all this?" he inquired.

"All will be revealed in due time," she said. "The other box contains your books. The girl happens to go to a private school and it happens to be co-ed."

"Have you received word as to her name?" asked Kaname.

"No...except we only know that she works at a bakery," answered Minako.

"Midori-ya cafe?" guessed Kaname.

"You know of it?" she asked.

"A friend of mine who works at a bar went there one time," he replied.

"They have some really good pastries there," she said.

"That's what he told me," replied Kaname.

After a few minutes, Minako checked her watch and said, "Oh...look at the time...I think I might have overstayed a bit."

"No worries...thanks for the information...and send my regards to Dr. Reese and Dr. Ross," said Kaname.

"Will do," she said, as she gave salute, with Kaname returning the gesture.

"Thanks for the tea...it was delicious," replied Minako, as Kaname saw her to the door.

After she left, Kaname stared at the other box that was unopened with a hint of apprehension at first...then headed upstairs and made his way to the room farthest leading to the front of the house and then opened the box.

Inside were the textbooks for his classes. There was one for English, another for Biology, one for Algebra, one for Japanese, and one for Chemistry. According to his schedule, he had those subjects plus a physical education class.

"General education I suppose," he said. Kaname then looked over the folder again, the details to him sounded a bit...awkward. Dr. Reese and Dr. Ross were to act as his parents, while Philip was his cousin.

After putting the first box aside and carrying the folder back downstairs, Kaname looked at the long box that contained whatever it was his father wanted him to have. Inside was a navy blue box with gold linings at the end and a lock. Kaname undid the lock and opened the container revealing a violin that was cushioned in what appeared to be sheep wool. He looked at the letter again and placed it within the violin's container. Kaname then took the box with the violin downstairs to where Reo and Subaru were. They were currently having tea while Philip filled them in on the details.

"So...when are you supposed to start?" asked Philip.

"From what I've read...it turns out tomorrow," he replied.

"What's in the box?" asked Subaru.

"Oh...this...according to the letter that was with it...it once belonged to my father," answered Kaname.

He then opened the box to reveal the violin.

"Wow...someone must have taken good care of it," said Subaru, looking at the design.

"According to the sender, Luke, he was a good friend of my father...and the younger brother of a very close friend of his," explained Kaname.

"Think you could place us a tune?" asked Reo.

"Not right now...it would probably take some time for something to go through my head," said Kaname. "Want to see what room you'll be staying in?"

"Sure," said Reo.

As the four of them went upstairs, Subaru was taken completely by surprise at the detail of the house interior. There were white marble tiles for the floor that covered the entire first floor, the walls of the living room, and the lounge room which they entered was colored light brown, while the kitchen and dining room were a sky blue color. There were several nature paintings adorned in both the living room and the dining room. Some of them depicted a forest, waterfall, or even a beach. One of the paintings in the dining room had a picture of a tiger lying on the grass. The wall on the staircase was painted a light red color, while the walls on the second floor were the same color as the ones in the kitchen and dining room.

"This is a nice place you guys have," said Subaru.

"I had some help," said Kaname.

Subaru and Reo followed Kaname upstairs leading to a study room near a small circular window and across from it a large bookshelf that then extended to the hallway which had seven rooms. Two on the left, three at the right and one leading straight and the other near it but at an angle.

"The one straight ahead is the master bedroom the one that's facing an angle is where Philip sleeps. The first one on the left is where you'll be staying Subaru and the bathroom is right next to it. The laundry room is the one in the middle of the three rooms on the right, the bathroom is at the middle left, and the middle right is where you'll be staying Reo," explained Kaname.

As they settled into their rooms, Kaname headed downstairs as Philip was putting away the dishes in the sink, until his eyes spotted a small envelope set between the door and the frame of the opening. As soon as he pulled it out and placed it in his pocket, Kaname turned around and from the corner of his left eye, spotted a black van parked near them.

"Philip...are we expecting anyone later tonight?" asked Kaname.

"No...why?" he inquired.

Kaname then went near the wall closest to the staircase and hit the wall with the ball of his fist, revealing a small compartment used to store blades and takes out two daggers.

"What is it?" asked Philip.

"Make sure our guests our safe and don't keep them out of your sight. I've got a bad feeling about this," said Kaname, slowly and cautiously walking towards the door.

Seconds later, one of the windows nearest the living room breaks as someone manages to get inside and starts firing with a M1911. Kaname did a roundhouse kick to knock away the guy's gun before he tries to throw a quick punch at him which gets blocked as the second asset just simply does a sweeping kick to knock Kaname down before he tries to hit him on the head with the heel of his shoe. Kaname manages to roll away to avoid being hit before getting back on his feet. He then realizes that this one was no push-over.

The two of them quickly began to exchange blows by throwing quick jabs here and there, each trying to outdo the other. The asset throws a quick punch to which Kaname grabs his fist, and then jabs his neck with his elbow before throwing him to the ground. He quickly gets back up and tries to strike the back of Kaname's head before he blocks the attempt and then gets jabbed at the chest from Kaname's right fist before he uses his elbow to nearly break the asset's nose and gets knocked down when Kaname knees him at the stomach before knocking him out with his elbow. After tying him up and bringing the assailant downstairs and securing him to a chair, Kaname heads back up and calls down Philip, with Reo and Subaru behind him.

"What the heck was all that about?" asked Reo.

"Probably a hitman trying to get to you guys," answered Kaname.

"Any idea who?" asked Philip.

"No...but I'm hoping to get to the bottom of it soon," he replied. "I'm going to head out for a bit to get some pastries. You guys want anything?"

"I'm OK," said Reo.

"I won't be gone long," said Kaname, as he placed his daggers on the dining table and then headed out.

It was currently 2 p.m. as he headed past a few neighborhoods, the only thought that went through his mind was 'Who could have sent that asset?'

Fixing his jacket as he waited at the stoplight, Kaname looked left and then right to make sure he wasn't being followed. After crossing and making a right at the next stoplight at the next intersection...Kaname finally came across the cafe and saw a familiar face sitting at one of the tables.

"Capt. Jason?" he inquired.

"Kaname...fancy seeing you here," he said, standing up.

The two gave a quick embrace before sitting down.

"You go here often?" asked Kaname.

"Once in a while," said Jason. "Money is a bit tight. Have to pay my daughter's tuition."

"You have a daughter?" he inquired.

"Yeah...going into nursing school," said the captain.

"I see," said Kaname.

Capt. Jason noticed the expression on Kaname's face and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Someone sent an asset at my place," he replied, looking a bit annoyed. "Do you know who?"

"Not that I would know of," said the captain.

"Whoever sent that asset was probably targeting my guests that I managed to come across several hours ago," said Kaname.

"Guests?" he inquired.

"I've received word somehow that there are a couple of fugitives that are on the run. One of them is a rouge and the other I've heard is a beastwoman," explained Kaname.

"Beastmen?" wondered the captain.

"You've never heard of them before?" inquired Kaname.

"I've heard a small amount about them but not much," said Jason. "What does this have to do with the current situation?"

"The artifact was that we recovered, both sides seem desperate to get it and tried to prevent one of them from getting the artifact," explained Kaname. "I haven't filled them in on the details but my partner has."

The captain took a quick glance at his watch and then said, "Now I need to take my leave."

"Alright," said Kaname, getting up.

"Good to see you," said Capt. Jason.

"Likewise sir," he replied, giving salute.

After Jason left, Kaname then made his way into Midori-ya café. A bell rang at the top left corner of the door and a young girl with brown hair in ponytails and blue eyes wearing a white apron came out. As soon as he saw her stumble slightly, Kaname let out a slight gasp as soon as he saw her.

'That couldn't have been her at the ruins. The one I saw had a small gem on the forehead...probably stumbled on something I guess,' thought Kaname.

"Welcome to Midori-ya café. How can I help you today?" she asked.

"Just here looking for some pastries. I'm expecting some company over at my place," explained Kaname.

"Well we have rolls, sticks, crescents, various kinds of breads, muffins, including chocolate covered ones, as well as -"

"Okay, okay…I'll ponder over the choices and let you know when I'm ready," said Kaname.

"Take your time," she said.

"A friend of mine recommended this place to me. You own this place?" asked Kaname.

"Well...it's a family-run business. I'm just taking my shift while going to school," she said.

"By any chance...is it a private school?" he asked.

"Yes...it is," she replied. "I'm Nanoha...Takamachi Nanoha."

"Kaname...Kaname Zenryuu," he said, introducing himself.

After Kaname placed his order, Nanoha then said that it would take about 15-20 minutes to get everything ready.

"In the meantime, would you like some samples or anything to drink?" offered Nanoha.

"Ah yes please…I'll probably try some milk tea if you have any," said Kaname.

"Sure…we have a few flavors," said Nanoha.

"I'll probably go with whatever's popular around here," said Kaname.

As Kaname was waiting for his drink over by one of the booths, he looked from one of the windows and then heaved a slight sigh from the people passing by going about their business.

'It's awkward that most people don't believe in the existence of either races, or how they've heard very little of paladins or even know what they are. How much has this world changed…or…more to the point, how little do they understand on what's going on?' wondered Kaname.

Several minutes later, the bell rang again and Kaname then turned his attention to the person walking at the door. The person that walked in had long blonde hair in a ponytail and was wearing a black cape with red on the inside. Kaname's eyes widened in surprise as he recalled seeing someone fly past him and realized that this girl matched the description perfectly.

'There's no doubt about it...she's definitely a vampire,' thought Kaname.

Fate stared at Nanoha for a brief moment before looking at Kaname and she suddenly grew a bit tense and had her right hand near her sword, Bardiche. Nanoha on the other hand couldn't tear her eyes away from the blonde.

"Is there a problem miss?" asked Kaname.

"No…no problem," she replied.

Nanoha eventually regained her composure and then gave the same greeting when Fate walked in and she decided just to go for a cheese Danish and some tea.

As Fate approached Kaname, she noticed that something was slightly different with him.

"If you're wondering if this spot is taken, you can have it," said Kaname.

"Here's your drink," said Nanoha, bringing Kaname his order.

"Thank you," he replied.

As Nanoha went back to get the other orders, Fate took a seat behind the booth that Kaname was at.

"I wanted to thank you...for helping Arf," she said.

"Friend of yours?" inquired Kaname, taking a sip of his milk tea.

"Yes...she was wounded as she was trying to get out of some ruins," replied Fate.

Kaname set his cup down and thought back to the fight and realized that whoever he helped must have belonged to the girl behind him.

"What is she?" asked Kaname.

"Excuse me?" wondered Fate.

"Your friend...the one that I helped bandage up?" asked Kaname. "Or are you just going to stay silent...vampire."

"You know of them?" she asked.

"I've fought a good amount...and from the looks of it...you can try and deceive me with your abilities but it won't work," he replied.

"Oh...and how can you be sure of that?" asked Fate.

"Because...I have a bit of vampire blood in me," answered Kaname.

"Then that would make you one of us," said Fate.

"Correction...I said I have a bit...but...I'm not entirely like you," said Kaname.

"What do you mean?" asked Fate.

"I'm sure one of your kind has the answer to that question," said Kaname. "You flew past me as you were heading somewhere and it seems like you dropped something."

"Yes…I did. How did you know?" asked Fate.

"As you flew past somehow it fell on my lap, but then…just as I caught sight of it, it fell from my lap and rolled down to the sewers," explained Kaname. "Was it important?"

"Very," she replied.

"Why are you really here?" asked Kaname.

"To see if you know where it went," answered Fate.

"Why do I get this awkward feeling that it entails so much more?" asked Kaname. "And I just told you what happened to it."

"Have you ever heard of the story called 'The Betrayal of the Twin Vampires'?" asked Fate.

"I have…once or twice," replied Kaname, as Nanoha came back with his order and placed it in front of him.

After giving Nanoha a tip and Kaname was about to take his leave, Fate then mentioned something that really caught his attention.

"You should tread carefully and be wary of who you keep around. They just might turn on you," said Fate.

"Kaname Zenryuu," he said, introducing himself briefly.

"Fate…Fate Testarossa," she replied, doing the same.

Slightly stunned and pondering on what she meant, Kaname took the same route he took earlier to get to the café and by the time he got home, Kaname then spotted the tea already set with Reo and Subaru already enjoying it.

"I was wondering what kept you," said Philip.

"I wasn't gone for _that_ long," replied Kaname, putting down the box of pastries. "Help yourselves."

"Thanks," said Reo, taking a muffin.

"These look so good," said Subaru.

"I went over to the Midori-ya café," replied Kaname.

"Was there anything out of the ordinary while you were there?" inquired Philip.

"Perhaps," said Kaname. "Besides the fact that I just found out that the one who flew past us before when we brought Reo to our underground base was actually a vampire," explained Kaname.

"Whoa…hopefully nothing bad went down," said Reo.

"Nothing of the sort happened down there; however, the encounter was a bit…strange to say the least."

"In what way?" asked Subaru.

"The way they were looking at each other…it's like one of them was mesmerized by the other," answered Kaname.

"Perhaps curiosity," suggested Philip.

"It's possible," said Kaname. "She asked about the fragment that happened to be in our possession…however, I tried to tip her off by saying we lost it."

"Do you think she could trace as to where it was brought?" asked Reo.

Kaname was silent for a moment before giving a slight nod. "Some vampires have certain abilities that their fellow coven members envy. It's possible that one could trace it here," he explained.

"So then why bring it if they could possibly trace it?" asked Subaru.

"I said it was possible. I didn't say that they could," repeated Kaname. He then turned his attention to Reo.

"So…explain to me why you guys are in hiding/running."

He looked at Subaru for a brief moment before saying simply, "It's because of her."

Kaname and Philip looked at each other and then at Subaru for a brief second before Kaname continued asking.

"The branch that you were a part of…I'm guessing had the same ideals as paladins before," he inquired.

"Yes…they saw them as nothing more than beasts that were once human but had lost their human form," explained Reo.

"This sounds like people who were cursed," added Philip.

"That would be correct," said Subaru.

"When I went to visit the archivist Yunno Scrya, he said that there was a rare event that occurred that suddenly turned humans into half man and half beast, but were not like werewolves, yet a variety of animals that were bipeds," said Kaname.

"That's what they're generally classified as," said Philip.

"It was from that information that created the superstition," said Reo. "I had a feeling that not all of them were how they were perceived; that their means of self-defense was from a response on how they saw them."

"It's no different from how people see others. Most only look on the surface instead of what lies beneath," added Philip.

"So what happened when they found out about you protecting her?" asked Kaname.

"My home was ransacked, and Su'ru was reportedly "contained" by the paladin' corps, and I was detained and demoted to private," answered Reo.

Philip looked up and down at Reo for a brief moment before he spots him sporting nothing more than an M1Garand.

"Think that'll help you much?" asked Philip.

"I like guns such as these," he replied.

"Having a primary is one thing…but you won't be as versatile if you only have one weapon," said Kaname.

"How can you be sure?" asked Reo.

Kaname then took off his cloak revealing his longsword, Vanguard.

"I've seen them use blades. Guns are one thing…but if the enemy can block projectiles, they'd have to be really good, not only with speed, but also deception by utilizing their agility with their skills," explained Kaname.

"I came across a sword during our sudden ambush when we were sent to retrieve an artifact. It appears they have some sort of small compartment for small disc-like blades that can be launched when the wielder swings their sword forward," added Philip.

"Philip here is good at support magic, and can conjure up projections so real that the audience thinks it's real," explained Kaname.

"There have been times where they have caused slight injury though and have gotten me exhausted," added Philip. "It's quite draining at times."

"The Silver Gauntlet branch actually thinks that the beastmen are in league with either the werewolves or vampires. As I tried defending Subaru, they already labeled me as a traitor. After deciding to leave the branch, they probably decided to put a bounty on our heads," said Reo.

"That's ridiculous. They have nothing in common with either of them," said Philip.

"Except for the fact that they've been targeted by the paladins," added Kaname. "What happened to the asset?"

"Took some sort of poison. Died right after you left," said Philip.

"Damn...we're back to square one at this point," said Kaname.

"Not really," said Philip. "There appeared to be some sort of marking on the guy's neck."

"A mark...you mean like he was under the influence of something?" guessed Kaname.

"Something of that sort, yes," he replied.

"If you were able to draw that mark...could you make me a copy?" asked Kaname.

"What for?" asked Philip.

"To show it to the archivist Yunno and get some information," he replied.

"I already called and mentioned about the damage to headquarters and also managed to get a new window," said Philip.

"What would I do without you?" asked Kaname.

"Probably screw up royally," he replied.

"Why would they put a bounty on their heads?" wondered Kaname.

"Probably to try and prevent them from leaking any information that might expose the branches for anything that would be considered either blasphemous or out of line; whatever they know is putting them in harm's way," answered Philip. "This could get REAL ugly."

"All the more reason to try and solve this and hopefully convince the Holy Order Council to offer them asylum and protection," said Kaname.

"Do you think they would listen? Besides…we're freelancers and not exactly in league with them, despite the fact that we have been aiding them. They would probably think we're spies," said Philip.

"Not unless some people in the Phoenix branch has proof that we were there helping them. They would need evidence to support that," said Kaname.

"If this has to do with trying to prove that there's corruption within the branches, I'm more than willing to help you guys," said Reo.

Kaname and Philip looked at each other for a moment before Philip told Kaname,

"Can I have a word with you in private?"

"Of course," said Kaname. "Excuse us for a moment."

"Take your time," said Subaru.

As the two of them went downstairs in the underground portion of the house, Kaname could sense his partner's sense of doubt and hesitation.

"What are you so worried about?" asked Kaname.

"He may be from the Silver Gauntlet branch, but the fact that we're helping them in hiding would brand us as traitors as well," said Philip.

"So what do you suggest we do Philip? Turn a blind eye and hope this whole thing just blow over?" asked Kaname, with a hint of anger in his voice.

"They already know that we have them," countered Philip.

"Just because he has a beastman as a girlfriend doesn't mean they're dangerous," he shot back.

"Whoever hired that assassin to kill them probably already knows about us as well," retorted Philip.

"We have bigger things to worry about than just try to worry about our own hides!" yelled Kaname. "There are other forces at work here Philip and you know that. Whatever reason they're with us…whether good or bad, we should offer them our support. Now if you're too reluctant to lend a hand then you're more than welcome to leave."

He heaved a frustrated sight as Kaname combed through his hear with his left hand just infuriated. Rarely would they argue like this, even so much as yell at each other. After five minutes of agonizing silence, Kaname turned back to his partner.

"I'm sorry. I should have been more accepting," said Philip. "We'll need all the help we can get."

"Indeed," said Kaname. "Apology accepted."

"If only I was as open minded as you," said Philip.

"Sometimes I am. However, I'm not as reluctant to use force or other aggressive means when necessary," said Kaname. "Remember…injure, but don't…"

"Kill," finished Philip. "I know…I know."

Seconds later, the two of them heard footsteps as Reo and Subaru came downstairs.

"I'm sorry for eavesdropping but…I just wanted to thank you two for your hospitality," said Reo.

"You're very welcome," said Kaname. "I'll understand if you want to join, however…there are a few conditions that you must be willing to accept. First, do your best to follow orders from me or Philip, even when the situation looks grim without question, and second, if there are any personal reasons as to why you want to join, I advise you to throw those reasons out, because they'll only get you into more trouble than you ask for. Can you do that?"

"I'll do my best," said Subaru.

"Despite the fact that I feel betrayed from how my beliefs were different from the rest of them…I will do what I can," said Reo.

"Reo…there will always be those kinds of people who don't have the same beliefs as you and there's not much you can do to try and change their minds. Just try to accept the fact that there are those who support you, like your girlfriend," said Philip.

"Well said Philip," said Kaname.

"So…what exactly did you find from your visit with this archivist?" asked Reo.

Kaname then went over to the computer and placed his book in a small container which somehow scanned his entire notebook and put the information that was in it as scanned pages. It was around the tenth and eleventh pages that the data he got when over at the archives was made visible.

"Whatever I currently have in my possession, the vampires definitely seem to want it. I'm not sure about the reaction of the lycans, but…clearly someone knows something about it," said Kaname. "According to the notes I gathered, there appears to be a set of crystals known as Blood Fangs. Apparently, these crystals seem to act as a type of detector, and when I mean that, it seems to try and lead the wielder to the next one."

"Like a compass trying to show where to go," said Subaru.

"Something like that," said Kaname.

"And what happens if they're found?" asked Reo.

"That's what still baffles me. The fragments that I have form something that is called the Silver Eclipse. It's a key to something. As to what it unlocks is beyond me," said Kaname.

"The good news is that this underground area is well hidden so it would be a bit difficult to gain access," said Philip.

"So what do we do now?" asked Subaru.

"For now…we need to try and keep a low profile. Philip here can help teach you swordsmanship if you're interested. I can help with hand to hand combat," said Kaname. "When I'm not busy with schoolwork."

"You guys should get some rest. We have a long day ahead," said Philip.

"It's only 7:30 p.m.," said Subaru.

"All the more reason to get some sleep while you still can," said Kaname.

"We'll see you in the morning," said Reo.

"I'll go and get the security ready," said Philip, manning the monitors.

"Don't take too long," said Kaname.

"Easier said than done," said Philip. "Oh...good luck on your first day of school."

"Hey...that's not funny."

"It is to me," he replied, chuckling.

Outside, Fate had finished what she ordered over at the Midori-ya Café and went to an alley not too far from where the café was and found her teacher, Vercossa.

"What did you find out?" she asked.

"I came across that person with strange eyes. He apparently lost track of what I dropped and said it could probably be in the sewers," said Fate.

"That's not going to do us any good, unless one of them leads back to our lair and we just follow it," said Vercossa. "What was your impression of him?"

"His name is Kaname. Apparently, he knows of both our existence and our long time enemy," she replied.

"Anything else?" inquired Vercossa.

Fate was silent for a moment before Vercossa had to call her name again to snap her out of her thought process.

"I'm sorry. You asked if there was anything else I came across?" asked Fate.

"You seemed out of it for a bit. Was it from something you ate or drank? You didn't give away our existence did you?" asked Vercossa.

"There was…a young girl that was helping in the café," said Fate.

"What did she look like?" inquired her teacher.

"She was…really young. Brunette, blue eyes," she explained.

"Lycan?" asked Vercossa.

"No...otherwise I would have heard a growl escape her throat," she replied. 'Although I did help her after she was nearly forced upon.'

"There was something different about this one though," said Fate.

"What?" wondered Vercossa.

"She seemed…curious," said Fate.

"About you?" she asked.

"Yes," replied Fate.

Vercossa tried to hold back a laugh, which didn't go unnoticed by Fate. "What's so funny?"

"N-nothing," she replied, letting out a slight chuckle.

"Don't tell me you're interested in that…thing," said Vercossa, sounding a slight bit surprised.

"Don't be ridiculous. Let's just go," said Fate, getting annoyed as she took to the night sky.

The moon was a quarter and a half full and the sky was clear enough to see the stars. Nanoha then closed the café and was about to head home when she realized that she forgot something and went back to the kitchen and grabbed her bag. Once she double checked to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, Nanoha then locked the door to the café and walked over to her apartment which was several blocks away.

'Fate…I wonder if she really is one,' wondered Nanoha, as she turned a corner near a stoplight and walked towards the apartment complex, up the stairs and went to her room. She dropped her bag near the door, got into bed and tried to go to sleep, but found it a bit difficult as the events from today began to replay in her mind. One slight detail continued to replay in her mind as she overheard the slight conversation between Fate and Kaname.

'I wonder what she was looking for that could be so important,' thought Nanoha. 'Maybe if I see her again, I could try and help out.'

As Kaname headed to his room and opened the case containing the violin, he opened the window near the bed as cool air and the sounds from outside began to come through. Placing his chin on the rest pad of the violin, Kaname then began playing a tune that he didn't even recognize but was surprised as to how easily playing the violin came to him. It was a calm, soothing, and yet...happy tune. As he finished and slowly placed the violin on the bed, Kaname stared at it for a moment and thought, 'Wow...it's been a while since I've played...but, how?'

Placing the violin back in its case and closing it, Kaname then fixed himself up before heading to bed and the words that Fate had told him echoed in his head again.

'_You should tread carefully and be wary of who you keep around. They just might turn on you_.'

'_Fate…Testarossa. Is she friend…or foe_?' thought Kaname, as sleep slowly came to him.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4****: Captured and Interrogated**

If there was one thing that Kaname liked to do often was to wake up early to make tea before heading out for a quick jog around the block. He had set his alarm to 4:30 a.m. and was already fixing himself up in the bathroom. By the time he got into his dark blue jogging jacket and his running shoes, he went to the kitchen and prepped the stove to get the water in the black metal teapot boiling later before heading to the cupboard to get a certain tea type and putting that in. As he ran through the quiet early morning, Kaname kept his eyes and ears peeled for anything out of the ordinary. Trying to run a full block and back would usually take him 15-30 minutes, giving him enough time to take a quick shower and get the tea and breakfast ready. By the time Kaname came back from his morning run, Philip was already awake and getting the tea ready.

"That was quick," he said.

"Despite the fact that I wake up earlier than you do," said Kaname. "You're not much of a morning person if I recall."

"I'd make today an exception. Besides...you're going undercover anyway," replied Philip. "Your bag is already set, and your ID is already in your wallet. I placed it next to the door."

"Thanks," replied Kaname, as he headed upstairs and to the master shower.

As Kaname turned on the water to cold, he let his mind wander for a bit...trying to piece together the information that he already had so far. The only thing that was going through his mind at the moment was the event that caused humans to turn to beastmen. What caught his curiosity even more was whether or not paladins would hunt former humans that became beasts...despite the fact that the probability was high and that presumably this gave way to rogue paladins that saw things differently from their seniors and veterans.

After fixing himself up again, Kaname gave himself one last look in the mirror before heading downstairs. He then began working on breakfast, while Philip got the teapot off the stove and onto a metal circular stand on the dining table. The scent of the tea hit his nostrils in an instant.

"Green tea this time?" inquired his partner.

"What can I say...I _am_ a tea person after all," said Kaname.

The pair eventually heard the water running, indicating that both Subaru and Reo were awake. Breakfast consisted of fried fish, rice, miso, and pickled vegetables. Kaname always had a small portion every meal which to him...was enough to get him through the day. Subaru and Reo were a bit surprised at what they saw on the table and looked at the pair.

"Did you guys do this?" asked Reo.

"Well...he did," said Philip, pointing at Kaname.

"Enough with the flattery Philip," said Kaname, looking away slightly.

"This looks good," said Subaru.

"He's just being modest. He doesn't take well with compliments," whispered Philip.

"I heard that," said Kaname, with a stern tone in his voice, causing Reo and Subaru to chuckle.

As they sat down to breakfast, Kaname checked his watch and noticed that it read 6:30 a.m. His first class was English which started at 7:45 a.m., followed by Biology, then Math, and finally Chemistry. From his place to the school, according to the information he received yesterday...it wasn't as far as it seemed.

"Which do you plan on taking?" asked Philip, eating the miso soup.

"More than likely a motorcycle...although I'm not sure they would allow it," said Kaname.

"I'm sure they'll make an exception," said Philip. "Oh...by the way, I made this for you so that I can monitor what's going on."

He then produced a small pin-like device from his pocket that resembled a sword with wings.

"Don't tell me that you'll monitor _everything_," said Kaname, feeling a bit uneasy.

At this Philip laughed. "Don't worry...I won't monitor the stalls if that's what you're thinking,"

"Shut up," he answered, taking a piece of fish and eating it with his chopsticks.

By the time they finished, it was already 6:50 a.m. Philip decided to take care of the dishes while Kaname then grabbed his bag and headed downstairs to the garage towards the bikes. Taking out his wallet and looking at the ID...Kaname gave a quick sigh before putting the wallet back in his pocket. Putting on his helmet, Kaname turned on the visor and started up the throttle.

"DATS...you there?" asked Kaname.

"Affirmative sir," replied the program.

"Send me the quickest route to get to Silver Shield College," he said.

It took approximately 5 minutes for the program to get the routes and to narrow them down to the quickest one possible. As soon as it was locked in, Kaname sped off towards his destination.

Unbeknownst to him however, another individual was also heading over to the same place...but coming from a different location.

Fate Testarossa was going to the school with business as usual. Her mentor Vercossa, had just reported back with Arf and mentioned to Precia about what Kaname had done to the rogue vampire as well as the beastwoman that he picked up as well. Precia's curiosity was overruled by her anger over the news about the round that could gravely injure a vampire.

"He _must_ be working with the paladins. There can be no doubt of that," growled Precia.

"Precia-sama...I know this will sound awkward but...since paladins have also gone after beastmen as well, don't you find it strange that he saved this beastwoman instead of killing her?" inquired Vercossa.

Precia sat up for a brief moment before looking at Vercossa and pondered over what she had just said.

"You have a good point there Vercossa. I'm sending Fate on a reconnaissance mission. She is not to engage him in any way, just observe and bring back intel. I want to know what is going on inside this Kaname's head," replied Precia. "You two are dismissed."

As Fate was giving the information by her mentor, she was by no means curious as well but at the same time...her thoughts wandered to the young girl she encountered after stopping that rouge vampire from forcing himself upon her.

She thought back to her training and what Vercossa had told her about one of the very vampire rules that must not be broken. _Never...under any circumstance think of your prey as something else besides food_. Fate knew that there were worse things than death, although she wasn't told as to what they were.

By the time that Kaname arrived at the school on his motorcycle, he saw some of the guys and girls take notice. He looked at his watch which now read 7:05 a.m. and turned off the throttle and parked his motorcycle. Looking through his bag, Kaname noticed a few locks that he realized would go into lockers and attached to his English book were the combination numbers. He took a few minutes to memorize the combination before turning off DATS from his visor.

Some of the girls were curious as to who the newcomer was and were whispering amongst themselves, while the guys felt a little intimidated by his appearance. Kaname took a quick look around and noticed that most of them had either walked or came by bicycle...making him stand out like a sore thumb, which he didn't mind.

After several minutes had passed, Kaname looked over at his left shoulder and saw a black Suzuki parked a few feet away opposite from where he was parked. He immediately knew he was being followed and didn't have to guess as to who was following him. Taking off his helmet and placing it atop the right side view mirror, Kaname heard some of the girls gasp in astonishment and some even giggled. He also took off his black leather jacket and hung on the other side view mirror before grabbing his backpack and the dark blue case holding his violin which he securely strapped to the bike with a couple of bungee hooked cords in an X form and the put the bungee cords in his backpack and finding his keys among the pencils and pens in the front of the bag, activated the lock mechanism for his bike and heard the alarm sound go off in a second indicating it was now locked so no one could try and get it.

Looking at his watch again, it now read 7:10 a.m. Kaname looked around at the campus and saw two individuals waiting at the steps of Silver Shield. The first person was wearing glasses, a blue dress shirt and black dress pants. The person appeared to be in his mid thirties to early forties. The one next to him was a raven-haired young woman that appeared to be in her mid twenties to early thirties, wearing a red vest, a black dress shirt, as well as black skirt and red heels.

"Takahashi-san?" he inquired.

"That would be me," said Kaname, walking up the steps.

"Shiro Takahashi...my name's Mr. Tanaka. I'll be your English teacher for the semester. This beautiful lady next to me is Mizuki Haruno. She's the principal here at this school," he explained.

"A pleasure to meet you both," said Kaname, bowing.

"Same here," she replied, returning the gesture.

As soon as he entered the school premises however, Kaname had a sudden feeling of dread wash over him. Something felt entirely off. The burning sensation on his right hand began to bother him a bit, and the only thought that occurred to him was that the school was about to be the stage of some supernatural trouble and chaos and confusion.

"If you'll please follow me Shiro...I'll show you the homeroom for your English class," said Mr. Tanaka. "And don't worry about the atmosphere...it's just the first day of class."

"Of course," he replied. Turning around he was trying to look for Mizuki...but she suddenly disappeared just as quickly as she came. 'Something is definitely out of place here.' After turning on the pin that was attached to his shirt, Philip began manning the monitors while Kaname was heading to his first class.

As Kaname entered the classroom, his eyes quickly scanned around the room that was already filled with students until his eyes came to rest on three girls. The first was a blonde girl with green eyes that was talking excitedly to the one across from the girl in the middle, who had purple hair and appeared to have light blue or gray eyes. The second girl however is what caught Kaname's attention. The one that was sitting in between the two was Nanoha Takamachi, the owner of that cafe, Midori-ya.

'You've _got_ to be kidding me,' he thought, trying to hide his surprise. 'This must be the girl that they want me to keep tabs on.'

As the teacher called for silence and for everyone to settle down, Kaname eventually introduced himself, and his ears caught some giggles and glances from some of the girls in the room that were obviously checking him out. He then took a seat behind Nanoha and her friends, who introduced themselves as Arisa and Suzuka. Nanoha herself however, knew Kaname but decided to keep silent as class began.

By the time that class had finished, Kaname then tapped Nanoha on the shoulder and asked, "Can I talk to you for a moment in private?"

"Um...sure," she replied.

"We'll meet you over at the food court," said Suzuka.

"Alright," replied Nanoha.

As the two of them made their way through the flow of students, the pair eventually found a quiet spot to talk near an emergency exit close to an array of awards shown on a long glass case.

"What is it that you wanted to tell me?" asked Nanoha.

"I know this is going to sound weird but...there's a reason why I'm using this name instead of my actual name," said Kaname.

"What...are you like...going undercover or something?" she inquired.

"Exactly," he replied. "I need to keep this charade going for a bit."

"I was assigned to keep an eye out for someone," said Kaname.

"Anyone in particular?" she asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," he said, standing up. "So...there's a food court around here?"

"Yeah...I'll show you," replied Nanoha, leading the way.

After walking through several hallways and Nanoha explaining as to which classrooms held which class, the pair eventually reached a staircase leading down and they reached the food court. Kaname was a bit surprised as to how big it was. There were many different tables as well as a few booths. Nanoha watched with a smile as Kaname slowly took it in. It wasn't very noisy since it was only 8:45 a.m. and there wasn't that many students around. Kaname's next class started in 15 minutes while Nanoha's next class was religion which started in 10 minutes. She gave Kaname a map of the campus so that he could navigate his way around. After the two went their separate ways, Kaname tried to keep his senses on alert in case something came up. He stood at the staircase looking over the map. His next class happened to be upstairs on the third floor. Keeping his violin case near him and giving it a quick glance, he realized that the case didn't only function like it was but it managed to hold a secret compartment for his sword. By pressing a button located on the handle of the case, it opened a slot in which his sword would slide out.

'Whoever did this must have gone through some trouble to make this one especially for me,' thought Kaname.

However, before heading to his next class, he spotted a strange hooded individual wearing a light blue t-shirt heading for the bathroom, but into the wrong one. Kaname's earlier suspicions about the school was about to come to light.

'This isn't good. I know I'm supposed to stick to my mission but...' thought Kaname, as he heaved an annoyed sigh. Picking up his violin case and his backpack, Kaname looked left and right for any students that would possibly look at him before stopping near the bathroom across from several lockers.

Seconds later, a loud distressed scream was heard. Students that were passing by heard the scream and looked at the restrooms.

"That sounded like it was coming from in there," said a male student.

Kaname then ran inside the girl's bathroom and then spotted what he feared would happen. He heard a hissing sound from the hooded figure and breathed the exact word that was sure to cause panic later.

'Just as I thought...vampire,' realized Kaname.

Pressing the button on the handle of his violin case, Kaname's sword came out from the slit. Just as the vampire was about to bite his victim, Kaname grabbed hold of the collar and gave him a swift kick into one of the stalls, temporarily stunning him. After assessing the girl, who was still shaken, he then let her go before turning his attention to the vampire before him. As soon as he got up, Kaname ran full force at him knocking him out of the bathroom and ramming him into the lockers, causing several students to back away and others looking at them in stunned silence. Kaname then was about to use his sword but instead used the hilt to knock him down and then reacting quickly, unsheathed the sword and moving his right hand in a downward slicing motion, gave a pretty deep cut to the vampire, causing black blood to spill out. Some of the students ran for their lives while others were still stunned. Kaname then saw the wounded vampire get up and stare at him. What caught him by surprise however...was the sound of his voice...which would bother him for a while.

"Just as I expected from the prince of the Crimson Blade Quartet," he said.

"What did you want with that girl?" wondered Kaname. He briefly noticed a strange tattoo on the vampire's neck, one that he didn't recognize at all.

"My masssssster wants the fangs. I wassss trying to find it," he replied.

"What fangs?" asked Kaname.

Seconds later, the vampire gave a shrill scream as he was wounded once again. This time...not by a sword...but a bullet, which then caused him to burst into flame and then become ashes seconds later.

Kaname looked into his backpack and found a small vial in it and used it to pick up some of the vampire's blood as a sample and placed a small cork in it before putting it back in his bag.

Just as quickly as the incident began, Kaname was about to leave when he noticed that his surroundings looked like they froze. He looked around and noticed that nobody was moving, yet he was. He soon heard footsteps approaching, turned around and saw the principal, Mizuki Haruno approach him.

"Did you do that?" he asked.

"No...I was the one who fired the bullet," she replied.

"Then...if you didn't freeze time...who did?" asked Kaname.

"I did," replied a voice.

Kaname moved his head and saw his English teacher Mr. Tanaka approaching from behind.

"How do you know about the manner in killing vampires?" asked Kaname.

"We'll explain that later Mr. Zenryuu," she replied.

"How is it that you know my name?" he asked.

Meanwhile, outside near the school grounds, Fate Testarossa had her weapon Bardiche at the ready looking at the school campus.

"There's definitely something here. I heard that they were rare but...I never knew I'd find some here," she said.

"There appears to be another Familiar around here," said Arf, who was standing atop a roof near the alleyway where Fate was standing in.

"Did mother send you to accompany me?" asked Fate.

"Among other things," she replied.

Back over at the school grounds, Kaname learned that Mizuki was a vampire hunter while Mr. Tanaka was a magus...a rare commodity even in the Medieval times. Mizuki explained that she wasn't in league with the paladins and only focused on rogue vampires or even fledglings...ones that have been turned and are uncontrollable.

"Why are you here posing as a principal and teacher?" asked Kaname.

"They're here because they were assigned to you," said a voice.

Kaname turned around and saw Yunno the archivist approaching him.

"How'd you know of this place?" asked Kaname.

"I have my ways. Also...Mr. Tanaka's real name is Telcathias," answered Yunno. "I can also take the form of a student and have been watching the girl named Nanoha for quite a bit lately."

"I think she's the girl I was assigned to keep an eye on," said Kaname.

"She's a special individual that girl. However...I think we should take this someplace less crowded," said Yunno.

"He's right. I'll let the other teachers know that you'll be late to their classes and ask for a pardon. When this time freeze ends...everyone's memories of this incident will be wiped," explained Telcathias.

As the four of them headed outside, eventually the effects of the time freeze began to wear off and things began to continue as if nothing happened. Unbeknownst to the others, Kaname realized that they were being watched. He looked over and saw a familiar individual watching from the shadows and another individual watching from above.

"What is it?" asked Mizuki.

"We've got company over in the distance. I'll need you three to stay here while I go settle things," said Kaname, leaving his backpack and violin case behind, only sporting his sword.

"I'll go as well," said Yunno.

"Why?" asked Kaname.

"Because...she also owes me as well," said the archivist.

"What do you mean?" he inquired.

"You'll know soon enough," replied Yunno.

As the two approached Fate and Arf, Kaname placed his sword strapped behind him while Yunno with a snap of his fingers, placed a barrier around the school.

Kaname then saw the woman that was atop the roof leap near where Fate was standing, her stance defensive. It was until he saw the bandage he put on that it suddenly became clear.

"Is there a term for those that can change form from beast to human and then something that resembles both?" asked Kaname.

"We're referred to as Familiars," replied Arf.

"What are those?" asked Kaname.

"You just gave the basic definition," said Yunno.

"I did?" he wondered.

"Seems there's some things that left you in the dark," said Fate, stepping out.

"What are you doing here?" asked Kaname.

"I could ask you the same thing," she replied.

"I was sent to keep tabs on a certain girl."

"Could that girl happen to have brown hair and blue eyes?" inquired Fate.

Kaname's eyes went wide-eyed and he stared long and hard at the blonde.

"How do you know about Nanoha?" asked Kaname.

"Nanoha...so that's her name," said Fate. "In case you were wondering...I saved her from a vampire attack one night."

"Seems as though I'm not the only one who goes after my own kind," said Kaname.

"I have my reasons as you should know," she replied.

"There's something that we want to know," said Arf.

"And that would be..."

"How did you come across a round that greatly damages vampires?" she asked.

"You're worried...about your master being a target?" asked Kaname.

Fate's Familiar remained silent for a moment until Kaname's eyes changed. Fate took note of this quickly as did her Familiar as he looked at Arf up and down. She was taken aback a bit at how he was looking at her.

"What? Are you trying to see through me, pervert?" she scoffed.

"No...I'm simply analyzing your aura," he replied.

"Huh?" she wondered.

"There's no doubt about my suspicions. You are one of us...and yet...you're siding with paladins," guessed Fate.

"The one that I injured mentioned something...peculiar. Something about his master wanting some fangs...particular ones at that," said Kaname. "And second...I'm more neutral than you think."

"So why haven't you targeted lycans or beastmen?" asked Arf.

"I only go for those that appear to be a threat," he replied. "From the looks of things...I'd say you'd been sent on a reconnaissance assignment."

"You're bright...but not too clever. Whatever you caused in there is sure to cause an uproar later," said Fate.

"Why are you so interested in that girl anyway?" asked Kaname.

Fate was silent at first before Arf stepped in. "She's doesn't have to answer to you."

"Very well," said Kaname, as he turned to leave. "By the way...your master isn't the only one who's interested in her."

As the two came back from talking with Fate, Kaname noticed that Telecathias was gone and Mizuki was the only one standing near the tree where they left their belongings.

"What was that all about?" asked Mizuki.

"She appears to be just observing at the moment...trying to gather some intel...but I sense there's something more than that," answered Kaname.

"I see. You should probably get back and try to get to your other classes. Here's my number in case you have any questions," replied Mizuki, giving Kaname a small white card.

After she left, Kaname then turned to Yunno with a stern look on his face. "Why didn't you tell me earlier that you also go here?" he asked.

"Actually...my other function besides archivist is also archaeology and acting as a contractor," replied Yunno.

"So you're like what...a multi-tasker?" inquired Kaname.

"Something of that sort," he replied. "Oh...before we head to our other classes...I need you to do me a favor."

"Alright...what is it?" asked Kaname.

Yunno fished into his pocket and then pulled out a small round red gem.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's called an intelligent device. An object that imbues the user with magic. My guess is that when Fate and Nanoha encountered each other...there was a faint pink glow that surrounded Nanoha," explained Yunno.

"You were able to notice that about Fate?" asked Kaname.

"I also happen to know defensive spells and sense certain magical potential," answered Yunno.

"So you're saying that Nanoha is one of those people that has magical potential?" guessed Kaname, to which he got an acknowledging nod.

After looking at his watch, Kaname then decided to head over to his next class until Yunno mentioned that they should meet up over at the food court later. By the time Kaname got to his next class, which was biology, his teacher mentioned about the notice from the principal and was excused for his tardy. He blinked for a few seconds trying to recall some of the details that was mentioned to him before taking his seat.

He was lucky enough to realize that it was nothing more than an introduction...but what Kaname didn't notice at all was that the time he had spent prior to today was the end of summer. The class ended quickly with the bell signaling lunch time. As the students poured out the classroom, Kaname felt something vibrating in his pocket and realized it was phone. Picking it up, he checked the number and realized it was his partner Philip. Heading downstairs and outside to the front of the school, Kaname then answered the phone.

"What's up?" asked Kaname.

"I noticed your little skirmish earlier...as well as that time freeze and all that," said Philip.

"Don't tell me you had that thing on the whole time," said Kaname.

"I did...but just sorted through all the information after that skirmish," he replied.

"Did you just call me just for that?" he inquired.

"Not just that...but I've received word about someone by the name of Precia trying to keep tabs on a certain individual," answered Philip.

"Any idea who?" he asked.

"Not yet...but I'll let you know as soon as I can," replied his partner.

"Alright...and Philip..."

"Yeah?" he wondered.

"Try to notify me before the classes start," reminded Kaname, before turning it off.

"Shiro...over here," called out a familiar voice.

He turned and saw Nanoha with her friends and didn't even have to guess as to the reason why she called him. Yunno was also among them.

"I had a feeling you'd be a bit busy so...I brought you some lunch," said Nanoha, handing him a vegetable sandwich.

"Thanks...I like vegetables by the way," said Kaname, taking a small bite.

As they were eating, Yunno then saw Fate's motorcycle come over near the front of the campus, causing other students to notice.

Fate was wearing tight leather pants, a black tank top as well as a black leather jacket. Straps from her black bra could be seen under the tank top but the tank top covered most of it.

Kaname noticed the way she was looking over at them, particularly at Nanoha and tried to keep a calm composure without getting too serious.

"Friend of yours?" wondered Suzuka.

"I'm not sure...she looks familiar though," said Nanoha. She thought about it for a moment before she figured it out. "Ah...she came over by the cafe once."

"A customer perhaps," said Arisa.

As Fate walked towards them, Kaname looked quickly on his left and right and noticed the way how some of the guys were looking at Fate and gave an annoyed sigh.

'If she revealed her true nature to these guys...they would have probably thought twice to try and mess with a vampire,' thought Kaname.

"Hello...fancy seeing you here," said Fate.

"You were the one that stopped by my cafe that time," said Nanoha.

"Yes...I was. Just wanted to say thanks for the pastries...my name's Fate Testarossa in case you were wondering," she replied.

"Oh...you're welcome. My name's Nanoha. Nanoha Takamachi. Nice to meet you."

As Kaname carefully observed the interaction between the two, he thought back for a few seconds as to what Nanoha said earlier about Fate looking familiar and then when Fate said that they did meet before one night. Putting two and two together...Kaname came up with the only possible explanation in his mind as to what caused Nanoha to nearly forget what happened that one night.

'Her memory was altered by Fate somehow,' thought Kaname.

While the others weren't looking, Kaname took out the red gem that Yunno had given him earlier and placed it inside Nanoha's bag on the side.

"That you're bike over there?" asked Yunno.

"Yes...it is. If it's not too much trouble...want to go out with me sometime?" asked Fate.

"I'm not sure...I have another class coming up," said Nanoha, looking down.

Kaname followed Nanoha's gaze for a moment before quickly looking away.

Fate followed Nanoha's eyes for a moment before chuckling.

"Do you always stare at a girl's chest or am I a special case?" asked Fate.

"I'm...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to," she replied.

'She's probably jealous,' thought Yunno.

"So...how about it?" asked Fate.

"Didn't you listen to her a while ago. She just said that she has another class coming up," piped up Arisa.

"That's enough," said Kaname, standing up.

"Why are you siding with them?" asked Fate.

"Are you sure you want to find out?" asked Kaname. "Let her make her choice Arisa...I'll vouch for her."

"Are you sure Shiro? I don't want to be a burden," said Nanoha.

'_What are your real intentions vampire?_' asked Kaname telepathically.

'_I just want to get to know her better_,' replied Fate.

'_Before you try and turn her you mean_,' clarified Kaname.

"OK...maybe just once," said Nanoha.

"Great...then...I'll see you later tonight then. I'll pick you up at say...7:00," said Fate.

As Nanoha and Fate exchanged numbers, Suzuka and Arisa looked at the blonde with a sense of curiosity and a hint of annoyance...well...Arisa was the one who seemed annoyed. As she turned and left, her breasts slightly jiggling from the motion.

Kaname stared at Fate for a brief moment, suspicion and anger flaring in his eyes, when his ability took over...he then saw red mixed with blue.

'Not good...she seems annoyed that she thought I was going to interfere, while another bit was trying to act all cool and composed. Better keep an eye on this one,' thought Kaname.

Seconds later, Kaname felt his phone vibrate again and picked it up. It was from Philip again.

"What's up?" asked Kaname.

"You're not going to like this but...the commander just told me that Dr. Reese and Dr. Ross have gone missing," said Philip.

"Any idea how?" asked Kaname.

"I was told they were trying to secure the artifact when there was a break in and some rogues took them," said Philip.

"Paladins?" he inquired.

"No...vampires," came the reply.

Kaname cursed under his breath before turning to Yunno. "I'm afraid some family matters have come up. Yunno, can you vouch for both of us. I've got something to look into."

"I'll do what I can. I'll let the principal know," he replied.

"Thanks...I'm counting on you," said Kaname, heading towards his motorcycle.

Turning on the throttle, Kaname then turned on DATS and sped off.

"Philip…any luck on the location of where they were taken?" asked Kaname.

"I've told the commander and he said they're tracking them," replied his partner.

"Well we've gotta work faster. Times ticking and I'm not sure that the good doctor will be able to handle what they plan on doing to them and there's no telling as to what happens if they have the artifact," said Kaname, as he increased the throttle.

Barely making it through an incoming stoplight, he made a turn upon passing it and after several minutes of going through a long neighborhood, it led him up to a path leading into the mountains. Seconds later, Philip notified Kaname from his com-link.

"I've got the location of the spot they were taken to. It appears to be around a forest not too far from the capital...near a shrine a couple of blocks from there. As for where you are, I'm detecting a faint signal coming from within a cave right below from where you're traveling on right now," said Philip.

"Good job. I'll let you know once I've extracted them. When I do, contact the paladin headquarters and let them know of my location," said Kaname.

"Roger that," answered Philip.

The cold, damp atmosphere coming from the cave was more than enough to stir Dr. Reese awake for a bit after being knocked out. However, a sudden splash of cold water was more than enough to jolt him wide awake.

"Finally…he wakes," said a voice.

Dr. Reese looked around wildly and found that he couldn't see that well considering he was in a dark place. However, that suddenly changed when several torches were lit and he saw who his captors were. The heat radiating from the torches was enough to make him blink twice. All he saw were hooded figures. It was not until he saw their eyes that it became clear to him.

"Vampires," he said under his breath. "You're the ones that attack us in the ruins that other night."

"Correction, my good doctor…our group wasn't the ones there that time. We operate in our own way," said another voice, with a hint of a Russian accent.

"What makes you think you're so different from the rest?" asked Dr. Reese. "And where's my team?"

"Oh…right…them. Let's just say that they're in a…separate interrogation room," said another with a British accent, slightly chuckling.

"Get your filthy hands off of me," yelled out a familiar voice.

"If you even so much as hurt Dr. Ross…"began Dr. Reese.

"What? You'll do what? If you don't want her to be humiliated in front of you, then you'll tell us where the artifact is," said a third.

"Come now, Arthur…is that how we're supposed to ask information?" asked the one with a Russian accent.

"If you have any better ideas I'd love to hear them," retorted Arthur.

"Watch your tongue! That's not how you're supposed to respond to Dimitri," growled the second vampire.

"I wasn't asking for your opinion Leo," shot back Arthur.

"Enough Arthur!" barked Dimitri. "I want both of you out of my sight."

As the other two left and dropped Dr. Ross near Dimitri, another hooded figure came from the shadows. This one was different. From the form of the vampire, it had long hair and blue eyes. Dr. Reese concluded in his mind that it was female.

"What's the matter Dimitri dear? They just wanted to have a little…fun," she said.

"Not now Andrea…I have a prisoner to interrogate. You can have your way with her though," said Dimitri, pointing to Dr. Ross.

"Hmm…she does look rather lovely. I'll take my sweet time with her," said Andrea, taking her by her right arm and forcefully dragging her.

"What is she planning on doing with her?" demanded Dr. Reese.

"Oh…don't worry. She won't do any harm to her…much," said Dimitri.

"Just let her go and I'll tell you what you want," said Dr. Reese.

"Ah…are you that eager to save the damsel? I guess that will depend on what you tell on what I need to know," said Dimitri.

"Just promise me you'll let her go," said Dr. Reese.

"Alright…I'll let her go, when you tell me where the artifact is," said Dimitri.

"I told you, I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

A split second later, Dr. Reese heard Dr. Ross' scream echoing within the cavern.

"Stop it…please," she pleaded, her voice starting to crack with sobs.

"You sick bastard," growled Dr. Reese.

A split second later, a blade was pressed to his neck as Dimitri was staring at him with a hint of anger across his face.

"If you want to prolong her suffering…you will tell me or I'll have Andrea kill her in front of you," threatened Dimitri.

"Go to hell," replied Dr. Reese.

"Have it your way then," said Dimitri, as he snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, the sound of the engine of a motorcycle could be heard echoing from the cavern. A bright light was coming towards them, and Dimitri had to squint his eyes for a moment before turning his attention to the oncoming vehicle.

The light suddenly went off from the oncoming motorcycle as Dimitri got closer until the headlight went back on again at full power blinding the vampire. Several small daggers with a cross at the tip of the hilt struck its target before several shots were heard as Dimitri gave an agonizing cry of pain, alerting the other vampires.

Dr. Reese gave a sigh of relief as Kaname came into the scene.

"Your timing couldn't have been better," said Dr. Reese.

"I had a feeling that was where the noise was coming from," said Kaname, taking out his 93R and shooting off the shackles holding Dr. Reese.

"Looks like we've got company," said Dr. Reese.

Kaname then switched magazines to his other bullets, reloaded and fired off two rounds from his gun at Dimitri causing him to burst into flame before turning to ash.

"How'd you do that?" asked Dr. Reese.

"I'll explain later...just get to some cover," ordered Kaname.

Andrea suddenly came into view with her sword unsheathed and was about to strike at Kaname, were it not for him to answer her blow with his sword, Vanguard. Using his full force from his left arm, he pushed Andrea to the side before slashing her right arm off and then firing with his 93R, killing her, causing her to turn to ashes. Dr. Ross ran over to Dr. Reese's side, as Kaname stood behind them, weapons at the ready.

Eventually, they heard the battle cries of Arthur and Leo coming out with their HK 47s as well as a few other vampires. Kaname turned to Dr. Ross and asked, "Ever used a gun before?"

"Once or twice," she said.

Kaname then tossed her his second 93R as she stood beside Kaname. The first wave came in so quickly that Kaname dispatched half of them before emptying his first clip and having to reload. Five more came running towards them as Kaname reloaded, yet luckily, Dr. Ross managed to cover him as he did so.

"Not bad…not too bad at all," said Kaname, as he finished reloading. The second wave came in with Arthur leading as he fired several rounds towards the trio. Kaname used Vanguard to deflect some of the oncoming shots. Dr. Reese however, wasn't as lucky as one bullet hit his left shoulder.

"Dr. Reese," cried out Dr. Ross.

"Get him somewhere safe. I'll take care of these fools," commanded Kaname, as he fired a quick burst at Arthur before charging in with Vanguard in his left hand. As he got closer, he switched weapons by tossing them to the opposite hand. He swung at one vampire, severing his head while shooting down three others. Arthur was hit from the quick burst but still kept running towards Kaname, his HK47 still going. Kaname then tilted back and slid on the cavern floor and from the propulsion of the slippery floor, shot at Arthur's left leg before turning on his stomach and fired at his head, turning him to ash. Just as Leo was about to shoot, Kaname quickly turned and had his P39R pointed straight at his head and fired first.

"So what about your so-called ideal of injure not kill?" asked Philip from the com-link.

"Didn't I tell you? I hate rouges," said Kaname.

"The researchers are safe. Go ahead and contact headquarters. I'll notify them by a signal flare," said Kaname.

"You got it," said Philip. "Oh…Kaname…"

"Hm?" he wondered.

"Was that really even necessary?" asked Philip.

"Drop it," growled Kaname.

As Philip contacted the paladin headquarters, Kaname went back to assess the damage done to Dr. Reese. He was losing quite a bit of blood and was resting on the mountain wall.

"Go into my motorcycle. There should be a small trauma kit under the seat," said Kaname.

"Alright," said Dr. Ross, as she went and checked on the motorcycle.

"Keep the pressure on as much as possible," instructed Kaname.

"That was…some good shooting you did," said Dr. Reese, until he suddenly winced from the sharp pain on his shoulder as he tried to keep the pressure on.

"You should try and not talk as much," said Kaname.

Dr. Ross came back with the trauma kit several minutes later and placed it beside Kaname. As he dressed Dr. Reese's wounds, Kaname then turned to Dr. Ross.

"You alright?" asked Kaname.

"I'm OK. She didn't go too far," said Dr. Ross.

"I guess I don't even have to point out that you're obviously straight," he said.

"Actually…I'm not," she replied.

Kaname stared at her for a brief moment. "No…you're kidding," he said.

"No…I'm not. I'm actually bi," replied Dr. Ross.

He turned away for a second as his brain tried to process the information, while he finished up dressing the wound.

"Whoa," said Kaname, slightly stunned.

"What about yourself?" asked Dr. Ross.

"Me? Oh…definitely straight," said Kaname.

"Had any luck with the ladies?" she teased.

"No…I'm still searching. I also don't mind waiting," said Kaname. Seconds later, Kaname got a notice from Philip when his com-link started beeping. "Yeah?"

"I've already contacted headquarters and they should be heading your way within 5-10 minutes. I've also contacted the nearest hospital. They should be arriving at the same time that the rescue team comes in," explained Philip.

"Good job," said Kaname. He then turned to Dr. Ross and said, "I'll keep watch. When you hear oncoming helicopters…" Kaname then took out his signal flare. "Use this to get their attention."

"OK," she replied, taking the signal flare.

As Kaname then took watch near the entrance of the cave, he couldn't help but turn his head to look at Dr. Ross and her concern for Dr. Reese.

"What happened to the others?" asked Kaname.

"Two members of our research team were killed. The other two somehow managed to escape," answered Dr. Ross. "As for where they are...I'm not sure."

"I see," said Kaname. "What about the artifact?"

Dr. Ross was silent for a moment, before she took out of her pocket from her vest something in a leather pouch. There was a red star with a small diamond in the middle. As soon as she handed it to Kaname, a sudden headache struck him causing him to stumble backwards slightly and his right hand began to throb.

"Agh…what the…heck?" he wondered, as he held the artifact.

"Are you alright?" asked Dr. Ross.

"Yeah…I'm fine," replied Kaname, after the headache slowly began to fade.

After waiting for approximately 5 minutes, Kaname heard a faint whirring sound indicating that the rescue team wasn't too far away.

"That must be them," she said, and quickly took out the signal flare gun. Kaname then gave her a quick nod and she fired the flare.

"Talon 01 to home base, Talon 01 to home base…we've spotted an emergency flare," said the helicopter pilot.

"Roger Talon 01. Proceed with extraction."

By the time the rescue chopper reached Kaname and the others, the emergency helicopter wasn't too far from where they were.

What caught Kaname's surprise however, was the person that was leading the rescue operation...Minako Suzuki.

"I had a feeling he'd contact you," said Kaname.

"Where's the research team?" she asked.

"Only Dr. Reese and Dr. Ross were captured. There were two that were killed by vampires and another two that barely escaped. Whereabouts are unknown," he explained. "Dr. Reese got shot while I was fending off rogue vampires."

A couple of nurses carefully set Dr. Reese on the stretcher as they brought him in the helicopter. Dr. Ross tried to follow but she was prevented from doing so.

"Don't worry about him...he'll be taken care of," said Minako, trying to reassure Dr. Ross, as Dr. Reese was lifted into the helicopter.

However, just as the rescue team was about to leave…one of the paladins shouted, "We've got incoming!"

When Kaname got a closer look and saw someone towards them.

"Hold your fire soldier," commanded Kaname.

"Looks like I missed something exciting," she said.

"State your name and business vampire," said Kaname.

"Very well…I'll get straight to the point. My name is Vercossa and my master wants to speak to you…in person," she replied.

"And by that I'm presuming that it's over in your coven," guessed Kaname.

"You're pretty smart…for a freelancer."

"Don't do it Kaname. It could be a trick," said Dr. Ross.

"It's alright. I'm sure their actions speak louder than their intentions," said Kaname. "Ms. Suzuki…relay this message back to Philip and the others. Tell them I've made contact with one of the vampire representatives and have asked for information from their leader and that I won't be gone long. Can you do that?"

She was a bit hesitant at first until Kaname made his voice firm. "Can I trust you on doing that for me?"

"Alright…I'll do it," she said.

"I'll be back…I promise," reassured Kaname, going to his motorcycle.

Once Kaname got the throttle started, he then noticed Vercossa was in the air while he was on the ground. Taking once last look at the rescue helicopter, he turned his attention to the two vampires in the air.

"Think you can keep up?" inquired Vercossa.

"Lead the way," said Kaname.

Kaname had to keep going in and out of various trees in the forest several times before he found the road that he went off from to get to Dr. Reese. By the time he was back in the city, Kaname had just split seconds to glance at the two vampires as well as the road ahead that was slowly starting to teem with traffic. Weaving his way through the cars, Kaname had to rely less on DATS and more on his actual senses. By the time he got to a second stoplight, he noticed the vampire made a left upon reaching it. Once the light was green, Kaname hit the throttle again and made a hard quick turn left and increased the throttle to get more speed. He soon found himself in an old neighborhood and noticed that the vampires made a right at an oncoming T section. By the time Kaname caught up to them he spotted them landing and then walking into an old subway tunnel.

'So…this is what they meant,' thought Kaname, as he dismounted.

There were cracks at certain areas of the walls of the tunnel as Kaname followed the two vampires. The tunnel seemed to stretch for miles until Kaname spotted what appeared to be a huge gaping hole 2-3 feet ahead of them. He eventually spotted two male vampires with their swords unsheathed. Upon seeing Kaname, the two were about to block his entry in when Vercossa spoke up.

"It's OK boys…he's the guest that Precia-sama wanted to see," she said.

"Our apologies m'am," said the first guard.

"Please, go on in," said the second.

Kaname became a little suspicious at first but then followed Vercossa as the two of them made their way down the staircase. Already there appeared to be a debate going on and the whole coven was in an uproar.

"Sounds like something important is going on," guessed Kaname.

"Be quiet and keep moving," commanded Vercossa, pointing the tip of her sword at Kaname's back.

He faintly heard someone groaning in pain and it was clear to him someone looked like they were being interrogated.

By the time Kaname got to the bottom level, he became quite shocked at what his eyes beheld. A young werewolf was being whipped and was chained as well. The person doing the torture was none other than Precia Testarossa.

"Ah…the guest of honor has arrived," she said, with a hint of satisfaction.

"I brought him back just as you requested," replied Vercossa.

By the time the werewolf lifted her head and saw Kaname, his eyes quickly changed to silver, which didn't go unnoticed by anyone in the coven, including the werewolf.

'Looks like it's trying to put up a good front,' he thought.

Once he saw the werewolf's eyes, Kaname noticed that through the groaning, growls, and whimpers...it looked as if it was trying to speak.

"-name," it said faintly.

Kaname knelt down and asked "Who are you?"

"Do you recognize this…thing?" asked Precia.

Kaname was silent as his gaze was locked on the werewolf and the expression on its face.

"Kaname," replied the werewolf.

"It seems to know you," said Precia.

Kaname was silent for a moment and thought back to the letter he received with the violin and was suddenly stunned.

"Answer her, knave!"shouted Vercossa.

Just as she was about to kick Kaname, his instincts kicked in and he quickly unsheathed his sword Vanguard.

"Don't even think about it," he growled.

Several other vampires soon had Kaname surrounded before Precia called them off.

"Well..." began Precia.

"Luke?" he inquired, to which he received an acknowledging nod.

"We've received word that this...creature could be a spy for the lycans. He claims he thinks knows what it is that we're looking for," explained Precia.

"He may not know...but I do," said Kaname. "Your daughter asked me if I knew the story of the "Betrayal of the Twin Vampires". Two brothers were trying to hone their skills from their teacher and yet they had different views on things. Both wanted certain powers and that was the bait the teacher needed. You see, those in power don't want to lose it. As a result…the two brothers eventually got killed and the teacher took their skills. Judging from your aura…you only see this…coven, as expendable, and I know you're searching for the location of several…crystals."

"What is this fool babbling about?" shouted one vampire.

This suddenly caught Precia completely off guard as Kaname stared at the leader. Seconds later, Kaname got the most unexpected answer. She was laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Kaname.

"That's a very good assessment freelancer," she said. "But you're clearly mistaken."

"Oh…" wondered Kaname, slightly curious. "Enlighten me."

"You're right about the crystals yes…however, I don't think you know their actual purpose or what they are," said Precia.

"These...crystals...by any chance...are called Fangs are they not?" inquired Kaname.

"Oh you won't have to worry about that," said Precia. "Because you won't be around to see it; lock him up with this filthy creature!"

Just as several vampires surrounded Kaname, he pulled out something from his pocket, turned to werwolf and said, "You might want to close your eyes." He put on a mask and then threw out something towards them, before taking out a 39R and firing at the chains holding Luke and yelled "GO!"

Seconds later, the flashbang went off blinding all of the vampires inside. Kaname made a mad dash running to the stairs. His werewolf friend managed to get out and was standing near the bikes.

As soon as they were outside, Kaname turned to his werewolf friend and said, "Keep close."

"DATS…you still there?" asked Kaname.

"I've been waiting the whole time sir. You seem to be out of sorts. Did something happen?" it asked.

"I'll explain later. In the meantime, find me a shortcut that leads back to my place and fast. I've got a feeling that my ordeal isn't over yet," said Kaname, as he tried to get a hold of Philip.

As Kaname followed the directional path that DATS had set up, Philip finally managed to get a hold of Kaname after a couple of minutes, and he wasn't very pleased.

"Kaname…what the HELL were you thinking?" scolded Philip. "Going off like that to the vampire's lair?"

"I'll explain later," he answered, his breathing still a bit off.

"Why is there a werewolf following near you?" he asked.

"It's a long story...get some things ready. I'm going to be heading out again in a bit...so try and take care of our guest," replied Kaname.

"Alright...I hope you know what you're doing."

Kaname noticed his visor showed the current time was 4:30 p.m. and by the time they got back to his place...the werewolf slowly began to revert back to his human form. He had brown hair and green eyes, as well as cuts and wounds from being tortured. When Philip saw the person that Kaname came back with, he immediately threw a towel at him considering he was nude and went to get some clothes for him. Kaname led Luke to the couch near the table and set him down.

Reo and Subaru noticed Philip acting in a hurry and went downstairs to where Kaname was at. As soon as they saw the person that Kaname was tending to, they froze slightly.

"What's he doing here?" asked Reo.

"He's the one who sent me that violin," replied Kaname. "His name is Luke...and he's a lycan."

"WHAT?" they exclaimed.

"You brought one of them...in here?" asked Reo, surprised a bit.

"He was being tortured...by the leader of a vampire coven," answered Kaname.

"Why was he being tortured?" asked Subaru.

"More importantly...what was he doing there in the first place?" asked Reo.

"I'm not sure just as much as you guys. In the meantime...can you guys keep watch over him while I head out once more?" asked Kaname.

"Where you heading?" asked Subaru.

"A nightclub," said Kaname. "The Ravenstar nightclub to be exact."

"Isn't that one of those really expensive clubs in which you need to get a reservation in advance or be on the list?" inquired Subaru, to which Kaname nodded.

"To get a drink?" inquired Reo.

"No...investigation," he replied. "I have an odd feeling something's a bit off about a certain vampire."

"Be careful," said Subaru.

As Kaname started the throttle on his motorcycle once more and headed out to the nightclub, he turned on DATS from his visor, entered in the information, and then went down the highlighted route. While passing through various intersections, the only thought that occurred through Kaname's mind was, 'Why would she invite someone like Nanoha over to a famous nightclub like that?'

Eventually, he spotted the nightclub as well as the bike and two figures that were waiting over at the front of the line. Kaname then spotted Fate speaking with the bouncer who then allowed them access inside. Realizing it would be difficult to get in without causing trouble...Kaname then decided to look for another entrance...one that would unlikely be used. He found himself near an alleyway and then found a door that led to the nightclub. Fishing around in his pocket, Kaname eventually found what he was looking for...a paperclip. After several jiggling around with the lock, it became unlocked. Taking a quick look around before entering, Kaname then slipped inside.

He found himself inside the storage room filled with cleansers, a bucket on wheels, a couple of mops and brooms and then another door in front of him. Opening it, Kaname then found himself in another storage room...this time filled with a couple of refrigerators holding alcoholic beverages. His sense of hearing then picked up the lively beat of the club reverberating within the room he was in. Fixing himself up, Kaname then slowly opened the door and found himself in the club.

Although the atmosphere was upbeat with the strobe lights and the music...Kaname knew he was slightly pressed for time and knew he couldn't linger even though he felt like it. Making his way through the club, he eventually found several seats that were occupied by his guess...VIPs. Looking past the row that had those seats, he eventually found a small staircase leading down and towards the bar. It was there that he found Fate and Nanoha together.

'Either I'm just being too careful...or she just simply wants to get to know her better...even though that could be just a front,' thought Kaname, as he headed over to the bar.

What caught him by surprise however...was the person that was working the bar. He had light brown hair, green eyes, was wearing a black and white striped dress shirt and a black vest.

"Leon?" he inquired.

"Kaname...fancy seeing you here," came the reply, as he sat down.

"You know him?" asked Fate who happened to be sitting a chair near him.

"Didn't know you also went here, Fate," said Kaname. "And yes...I know him. He was the one who suggested I try for the military."

"What'll be ladies?" asked Leon.

"Same as always," replied Fate.

Nanoha on the other hand wasn't as sure since it was her first time, until Fate came to her aid. "Get her a strawberry margarita."

"What's your poison Kaname?" he asked.

"Just make it a Triple Berry Sangria_,_" replied Kaname in one breath.

"You got it," said Leon, going to get their drinks ready.

Fate looked at him with a slightly surprised stare, while Nanoha looked at him as if he was crazy.

"That sounds tasty," said Fate.

"Strictly business I assure you," said Kaname.

"Oh really?" she inquired. "Why are you really here?"

"Been following up a lead," he replied.

"From who?" she inquired.

"Didn't give a name," replied Kaname. "If I didn't know better...other than trying to get to know her better...I'd say you're quite interested with Nanoha."

"Based on what?" asked Fate.

"Trying to hide the real facts and trying to keep the truth at bay for a while before letting her know of your true nature, otherwise she almost be stricken with confusion and apprehension," replied Kaname.

"Here's your drinks," replied Leon, handing them their orders, as well as a glass of water.

"Thanks...put it on my tab," replied Kaname.

"How kind of you," said Fate.

"Trying to be a gentleman I see," said Leon, smiling.

"I figured since it's their first date...I might as well keep a low profile as possible," said Kaname.

As Fate and Nanoha then began talking about each other, Kaname leaned in closer to Leon and asked, "What's the current situation?"

Leon then placed his hand under the bar table and took out a small piece of paper and placed it in Kaname's hand before saying the words "Winds have shifted, experiments have been hidden. Look to a group that monitors in the shadows."

"Thanks," said Kaname, putting the paper in his jacket pocket before taking a sip from his drink. Turning around he noticed that Fate and Nanoha were still talking, but he eventually caught the words "Part-time" and "hobby", before the focus of the conversation shifted back to Nanoha. She explained that the bakery she was in, even though it was family-runned has been a little difficult since her parents are usually busy while her older siblings are in a different college than she was and that she had never had any time for herself or deciding on what she wanted to do.

"You should go with what you feel is right for you," chirped in Kaname. "I apologize for stepping in but...I've heard from my partner that if you don't like what you're currently doing...then it will show from your performance."

"I agree with him," said Fate. "Come on...let's dance."

"Huh...bu-wait...Fate-chan!" protested Nanoha, as she was led by the arm.

Kaname watched as the two danced closely to each other...almost in an erotic fashion.

"-chan...huh? Are we that close?" asked Fate, very close to Nanoha's ear. The heat from her breath made Nanoha shudder a bit.

Kaname saw that the pair was dressed differently. Fate had more of a Gothic lolita attire while Nanoha's was more civilian. The two of them were definitely drawing attention to some of the people that were on the dance floor.

'I don't think that giving her a drink was a good idea. Besides the fact that the evidence from tonight might show the next day...it's going to be tricky to mask it,' thought Kaname.

After drinking the water to help dilute the alcohol's effects, Kaname scanned the area, despite the strobe lights causing some visual problems, he spotted what appeared to be yellow eyes from one of the VIP areas. The person was bald, had a thick mustache and beard and was wearing biker attire. Following his gaze, he then noticed it landed on Fate and Nanoha, before his eyes widened in realization and his senses put on high alert.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath. 'If that guy causes trouble now...it could get worse later.'

Seconds later...as if his fears were confirmed, a nearby explosion caused a sudden panic within the club and Kaname felt slight tremors from the shockwave. Realizing that their existence could be exposed, Kaname thought quick, turned to Leon and asked, "You got this?"

"Yeah," he replied, as he saw him pull the emergency fire alarm.

Fate kept Nanoha close as the people around began to head for the door. Kaname noticed that the person he spotted earlier in the VIP lounge had suddenly vanished, until he saw him corner a girl near the door where he entered from which lead to the storage room. Acting purely on instinct, Kaname leapt from his chair to the vampire in a split second before taking out Vanguard and stabbing him before shooting several rounds from the P39R in his left pocket. The young girl screamed as the person suddenly disintegrated into ash. Kaname noticed the girl was still in shock after the ordeal and told her to get out of here. Looking back, he saw Fate with Nanoha still as she tried to protect her. Heading over to where they were, Kaname saw that Nanoha was just as confused as a result from the drink and headed back over to the bar to grab a cup of water and handed it to her.

"Drink this...it'll help dilute the alcohol in your body," said Kaname, to which she gratefully accepted. "She'll probably still be disoriented from the whole thing...can you take her back to her place?"

"Why are you so concerned about her?" asked Fate.

"Is that your way of saying thanks for letting me pay for your drinks?" asked Kaname.

"I could have done it myself thank you very much," she replied.

"Before you leave...ask yourself this...what is she to you and are you willing to break the very rule that we're not supposed to break just to be with her?" said Kaname, as he headed out the way he came.

By the time Kaname got outside, there was already panic in the streets as people were scrambling to their cars to get away from the carnage nearby. A couple of paladin platoons were already set in place as they were battling against strange four-legged creatures with wings. Kaname then looked up and saw Fate flying away with Nanoha in her arms before getting on his helmet and turning DATS on and contacted Philip.

"Philip...it's Kaname...do you read?" he asked.

"I'm here...what's up?" asked his partner.

"An explosion just went up near the nightclub and there's strange creatures trying to attack citizens," replied Kaname.

"I've already informed our commander of the situation and he's told the other branches. They'll be sending in their forces momentarily. A couple other reported attacks have occurred in other cities as well. Emergency crews have already been dispatched to those areas as well as yours," answered Philip.

"Good man," said Kaname.

"Oh...and uh...just to let you know...Reo and Subaru also wanted in on the action," said Philip.

"So..." he began.

"I...decided to let them out," replied Philip sheepishly.

"You WHAT?" growled Kaname his voice sounding furious.

"S-sorry but...just wanted you to know that Luke also went with them," said Philip.

Groaning in annoyance and mentally cursing like crazy...Kaname slowly regained his composure and said, "Look...keep tabs on them alright? Make sure they're not spotted."

"Don't worry...I let them use our black Audi A5," said Philip.

"Wait a minute...isn't that the one we modified?" asked Kaname.

"Yes...it is," said Philip.

"Sometimes I wonder about the things that you do that make me want to strangle you," said Kaname.

"Hey...they wanted to help," said Philip.

"Just make sure they stay out of trouble," replied Kaname. "When this is over...I need you to do something for me."

"Which is.."

"I've got a sample of vampire blood that needs to be analyzed and I'll be getting other samples as well after this battle," said Kaname.

"I'll do what I can," said Philip.

"Oh...and they need to be sent to Dr. Ross for analysis," he added.

"Alright...just try not to get killed," said Philip.

"Easier said than done," he replied, before turning off the com-link. "DATS...you read me?"

"Loud and clear sir," replied the program.

"Send me the data of where these attacks are coming in from and keep me posted of the situations there," ordered Kaname.

"Sending information to you now," replied the program.

As Kaname entered the current fray on foot, there was only one thing going through his mind at the moment.

'Could this be what Leon meant earlier?' he wondered, as he charged into the chaotic fray in front of him, sword at the ready.

**OK...first off...I'm going to say well done and kudos Satashi-san for finishing the first part of Vampire Fate and sorry if it feels like I'm taking a similar idea like yours was. _ Second...I know that most readers are expecting a NanoFate pair from this, so...don't worry...you'll get it. It'll take a while as I go on this but...we'll get there...just try to be patient. Also...just to give readers a heads up...Hayate and her Wolkenritter will be added in part two of this fanfic...once this part is done.**

**R/R onegaishimasu.**


	6. Chapter 5

Ch. 5: Not Everything is as It Seems

The sudden attack near the Ravenstar nightclub would eventually become public and cause mass hysteria and Kaname realized that the situation had to be taken care of and quickly. He could hear the hissing and roars from the winged four-legged creatures and the terrified screams of the citizens.

Taking out his 39R, Kaname found one about to take a young woman and noticed that the creature had a long whip-like tongue and quickly took aim and shot at the creature's tongue, severing it and letting the victim go before letting loose another burst from his gun to damage the wings, thereby causing the creature to fall to the concrete sidewalk hard.

Shots from the paladins that were trying to take down the vampires that were targeting either them or the citizens could be heard and cars and buildings ruined, smashed, or on fire. People stabbed, drained of blood, or...worst case scenario...turned.

However, that wasn't the least of his problems. Kaname was barely able to make it out, but several groups of werewolves were also in the fray as well and the paladins couldn't quite tell if they were interfering or helping. Heading back to his motorcycle, he then took out a Benelli M4 shotgun, loaded several rounds in it before pointing it at two vampires who spotted him and fired. Unlike his 39R in which he had to wound a vampire first before firing off a round, his shotgun managed to do the extra damage for him, thereby turning the ones he just shot...into ash.

He did a quick rolling reload and pointed it at four oncoming vampires and fired, severely wounding them but not until he heard shots being fired from vampires over at the northeastern side.

"Damn…this isn't good," he cursed, as he looked for the nearest group of paladins to back them up.

After several seconds of scanning the carnage, he eventually found a nearby paladin platoon situated on the northwestern side and used his visor to contact Philip.

"What is it?" asked Philip.

"How are Reo and Subaru doing?" asked Kaname.

"So far…they managed to draw their attention…if only for a moment," he replied.

"That's good…as long as they keep doing that…they just might be able to lead them to some of the other platoons," said Kaname. "Have you managed to locate Luke?"

"I'm tracking him as we speak. It appears as though he realized the situation and is trying to gather members of his pack to lend a hand. It also seems he knows where you went because it looks like the group he's managed to find are following your scent," answered Philip.

"Smart one he is," said Kaname.

"Happy hunting partner," said Philip.

"Thanks," said Kaname.

Kaname eventually saw one of the paladins in the platoon he was approaching giving orders to the others and put his motorcycle next to the barricade.

"What's the situation captain?" asked Kaname.

"We've been trying to keep them at bay for a while. We're still waiting for backup," he replied.

"Captain Kaname Zenryuu of the Phoenix Fire branch," he answered, giving salute as he introduced himself.

"Captain James Benett…part of the Iron Eagle branch," replied the captain. "Capt.  
>Jason of the Fire Phoenix branch sent word about the attack."<p>

"Much appreciated. I'll try and draw their fire," said Kaname.

"How do you plan on doing that?" asked Capt. Benett.

Kaname then drew out his sword Vanguard, and went out of the barricade into the ensuing chaos. Capt. Benett just shook his head in embarrassment.

"He's asking for a death wish," he said.

Several vampires then surrounded Kaname with swords drawn and circled him. The platoon that Kaname just found were watching in amazement.

"This is crazy...guns versus swords...what are these guys...medieval?" wondered Capt. Benett.

Just as the vampires surrounding Kaname were about to attack, a yellow curved energy blade was unleashed just inches away from where Kaname stood taking out a few vampires with it. Looking up, he saw a familiar figure land near him.

"If you just came to the party...you just missed the appetizers Fate," joked Kaname.

"Is that your way of saying thank you?" she asked.

"No...it's my way of saying 'Talk about impeccable timing'," he answered.

"You mind if I grab this kill?" asked Fate.

"Be my guest," he replied.

The remaining vampires surrounding them then charged in. Kaname ducked within seconds as Fate with a quick fluid motion, swung Bardiche around a full 360, destroying the remaining ones coming towards them.

"Who is that girl?" wondered Capt. Benett.

"Friend or foe?" asked a nearby paladin.

"Hard to say...but she's good," replied another paladin.

"That was for paying for our drinks," said Fate.

"A simple thank you would have sufficed," replied Kaname. "You brought her back?"

"Yeah...by tomorrow as a result of the drink she had, Nanoha might not remember as much from what happened tonight," said Fate.

"You sure you didn't alter her memory in some way?" he asked.

"Some of us are capable of doing such things...even though I've been around long enough...I was never taught that skill," replied Fate.

Suddenly, both of them heard flapping of wings and looking up, Kaname saw the same creature with sharp fangs and claws diving down towards him. Their heads were slightly slimy and their flesh appeared to be a light gray color and their eyes were red, indicating bloodlust.

"Shit…these guys just don't know when to quit," he cursed under his breath.

Fate leapt out of the way before loading some cartridge of sorts into her weapon and unleashing that same attack from earlier on them, severing their wings. She then took to the air and was instantly surrounded by about 15-20 yellow pointed projectiles before she let them loose.

Seconds later, Kaname received notice that Reo and Subaru had just arrived at Kamagaya and were currently engaging the same creature that he and Fate had just fought. One of the nearby vampire groups that were engaging a paladin force in a firefight spotted Kaname and called out

"That's the one…get him!"

"It seems you're the target this time," said Fate.

"How can I know you can be trusted?" asked Kaname.

"Let's just keep tonight between us," came her reply.

"Fair enough," he answered.

It was not until both of them as well as a few other paladin teams heard a howl that Fate began to search around in the sky.

"Lycans...this isn't good," said Fate.

Seconds later, more of those same creatures that were killed began to come in droves until the ground beneath Kaname's feet began to shake.

"What the hell is going on?" shouted Capt. Benett.

"Talon 01...this is Kaname...callsign Shadow. Do you copy?" asked Kaname, through his com-link.

"Shadow this is Talon 01. What's your situation?" asked the pilot.

"There's an oncoming werewolf pack that is aiding us. Do _not_ attack. I repeat...do _not_ attack. Provide them some cover fire when possible," ordered Kaname.

"Affirmative Shadow...sending in the rain," replied the pilot.

It was when Kaname saw those familiar eyes from the lycan leading the group that he smiled.

"Don't attack them Fate," said Kaname.

"Why not? They're my enemy," she replied.

"Just watch," he answered.

Almost hundreds of werewolves were charging down the street with one in particular leading the assault. Several of the werewolves broke into small groups and began climbing to engage the four-legged flying creatures. The two sides began clawing and slashing as each tried to outdo the other. Kaname observed as one of them tries using its tongue to either distract or to rope it in...until the werewolf bit down, severing it before spitting it out and falling back to the ground, causing him to smirk a bit. The helicopter above was providing cover fire while destroying some of them that came close to where they were with two built in Gatling guns.

"Friends of yours?" inquired Fate.

"Just one of them," he replied.

Meanwhile, Reo and Subaru were busy fighting off the winged creatures and several vampire groups, they eventually heard the same howl and a few other lycans respond in reply.

The Audi car was caked slightly with dust as several paladin soldiers were taking cover with them and backing them up at the same time.

"Reo…did you hear that?" asked Subaru, who gave several jabs to one vampire coming from behind before doing a round house kick to its side and landing a hard punch to its head, fracturing the skull with a sickening crunch.

"Yeah…I wonder who that was," said one paladin, named Alex as he fired several rounds from his MP7.

"It's obviously a werewolf," said a second paladin nearby Reo, named Michael, firing a couple of rounds from his MP5K at three vampires on the far left corner.

"Whose call are they even answering?" asked a third paladin that was in the middle.

"Will you guys just pipe down and engage the enemy already!" commanded Reo, taking out a small group of vampires with his M1Garand.

Seconds later, a paladin by the name of Alex yelled, "We've got incoming!"

Screams from some of the paladin men could be heard as Reo saw a few of them being lifted up by some thin long tongue. Looking up, he saw what they were…four-legged creatures with wings, sharp fangs at the edge of their mouth and a whip-like tongue. What he found really disturbing was that the face of the creature would split open revealing tendrils with sharp fangs before quickly shutting them on the victim…instantly killing them. Another named Michael tried to shoot them down from where he was standing, but was instantly caught by one of the creatures and killed seconds later. Alex tried to fire at them from a small distance behind the car, but was shot several times by an unsuspecting vampire on the northeastern side.

Reo pointed at one with his M1Garand before he heard Subaru screaming, as one of the long tongues wrapped around her right ankle and quickly lifted her up.

"Subaru!" shouted Reo, as he pointed his M1Garand at the flying creature. Just as he was about to shoot, several shots rang out as Reo saw a couple of rounds go to the creature's head instantly killing them. The one that caught Subaru lost its tongue's grip causing her to fall on her butt. She quickly moved out of the way of the falling corpse, as the rest of them scattered.

"Let's give them a hand," shouted Reo, firing at three of them with his M1Garand. Alex and his co-captain, Takeshi formed up behind Reo, creating a triangle formation as they covered each other's backs. Subaru saw one climbing down and jumped a couple of trash bins before her left hand got caught in its tongue pulling her forward. Just as the tendrils were about to appear, she gave a sharp jab with her right hand and following up with a flip-kick to its chin, before pounding away on its head and then grabbing it firmly. It tried to shake her off but Subaru held on tightly as though it was a wild horse. Eventually, she held on long enough to twist its head before ripping it off.

As the fight wore on, Fate unfortunately, was called in and had to be summoned elsewhere as a result from an unexpected attack at their coven from some strange creature that almost resembled a vampire but wasn't.

"Sorry...I've got other business to attend to," said Fate.

"How about another drink sometime and we'll call it even," suggested Kaname, shooting at another one of the four-legged flying creatures that was coming towards him.

"I'd like that," she answered, as she flew off.

'What has gotten into me tonight?' wondered Fate, as she headed towards her coven.

Eventually, the fight in which Kaname was in began to die down as the remaining paladin forces began to take down the remainders. Capt. Benett thanked him for the assistance, as the remaining vampires that were engaging either died or began to fall back. Kaname got back on his motorcycle and tried to call Reo and Subaru. Before he could however, Kaname spotted Luke's pack coming to him as Luke phased back into being human, as did his pack.

"Thanks for the help," he said.

"I'm just doing what my brother would have done for his friend's son," he replied.

"Your pack is always welcome under my roof. If you need anything...just howl," said Kaname, with a hint of humor in his voice.

Luke chuckled and patted Kaname on the back. "Will do. Happy hunting," said Luke. "Oh...take this."

Luke then produced from one of his pocket's a small sample of the creature that attacked the area.

"Thanks," he replied, as Kaname placed the sample in his jacket pocket, hit the throttle and headed away from the battle zone.

"DATS...any word on Reo and Subaru's whereabouts?"

"They're currently engaging the same creatures that you were fighting earlier in Toshima," replied the program.

"Send me the closest route possible."

"Calculating nearest route to Toshima now."

However...by the time Kaname got to his destination...he literally blinked when he found the remaining vampires and those same creatures he fought earlier began to leave as though they were either retreating or they found something.

'I don't get it. Did they find something important?' he pondered.

He eventually found Subaru and Reo behind the Audi with a small paladin platoon...or at least...the remainder of the platoon.

"You guys alright?" asked Kaname.

"Yeah...we heard reports of attacks coming in right as soon as that sudden explosion near that nightclub came up," answered Reo.

"Who are they?" asked Kaname, referring to the two paladins standing near them.

"That's Capt. Alex and his co-captain Takeshi. They're both from the Iron Eagle division," answered Reo.

"Nice to meet you captain," said Kaname giving salute.

"Same here," he answered, returning the gesture.

"How did things go here?" asked Kaname.

"We've lost Teams 2 & 3, and most of our unit," answered Takeshi.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he replied.

"Why do you think they left?" asked Capt. Alex.

"I'm not sure," said Kaname.

Seconds later, Kaname heard a couple of helicopters coming around with several small platoons and captains shouting orders left and right. He eventually saw Capt. Jason coming over to where he was and gave him salute.

"You're late Captain. The party just ended," said Kaname.

"Very funny...you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine. You informed the other branches?" asked Kaname.

"Only the ones that were in the vicinity," said Capt. Jason.

"Can I have a quick word with you…in private?"

"Of course," he replied.

Once the two of them were well outside earshot range, Kaname was leaning against a wall and Capt. Jason asked, "So…what's up?"

"I need you to be seriously honest with me about something. Did you ever receive word about a couple of fugitives from either the Iron Eagle branch or the Silver Gauntlet branch?" asked Kaname.

The captain was silent for a moment before responding. "Yes…I did," he said.  
>"Why…do you know where they are?"<p>

"Sir…if I may…I know this is going to sound awkward but…I think the tables are turning…much quicker than I anticipated," said Kaname.

"What do you mean?" asked Capt. Jason.

"This is going to get me in hot water but…they're with me," answered Kaname.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"Seriously," replied Kaname.

"Kaname…you know they'll place charges against you," said the captain.

"I know…and I'm saying that there's something more to this than just a couple of fugitives. If they're so damn bent on bringing these two to justice…they're being completely blindsided by an oncoming storm," said Kaname.

"I think you need to bring this up with them," said Capt. Jason.

"They'll say I've gone crazy…but I don't give a damn," said Kaname.

Suddenly, he could hear Subaru's screams of 'Let me go!' and Reo shouting 'Leave her alone!' in the distance.

"What have you done?" growled Kaname, with his 39R pointed at him.

"You have to understand...I was just following orders," he replied.

"How can I be certain?" asked Kaname.

"Capt. Patrick has been acting awkward since you and your partner left. If you want to know...I suggest you listen," whispered Capt. Jason. "Take this key...it'll come in handy later. There's a security containment room on the first floor of the base that sit right below the war room. You'll know why once you get there. The password is 079 bravo, lima, alpha, delta, and echo. He's planning on trying to take over command."

After Kaname took the key from the captain, the two then resumed their conflict.

"Who tipped you off?" growled Kaname. When he got no response, Kaname prepared his gun to fire. "I'll say this one last time. Who tipped you off?"

"It was…Capt. Tyrell of the Iron Eagle branch," answered Capt. Jason. "Please Kaname…try to understand…"

"Why? I trusted you for most of the time I was with the Fire Phoenix branch. I trusted you," said Kaname, feeling his anger rising again.

"I had no other choice," said the captain.

"Stand down soldier!" shouted a voice.

Kaname turned his head but kept his gun pointed at Capt. Jason.

"That is an order," said the voice again.

"Who are you?" growled Kaname.

"Don't you recognize me Kaname?" he asked.

He was silent for a moment before turning his head slowly, his breathing a bit heavy. "Commander Remington?" inquired Kaname.

Kaname then turned to Capt. Jason who then nodded as if to say, "Just go along with it for the moment."

Back over at the underground base, Philip mentally cursed at what had just transpired. He tried to track down their location but somehow got blocked.

"Damn it…those arrogant bastards," growled Philip, as he slammed a fist near the console.

Suddenly, he could hear faint knocking on the front door and immediately had one of his P30 pistols at the ready. Walking slowly near the door, Philip quickly opened it and found two individuals cloaked standing before him. One was slightly smaller and the other was a tad bit taller.

"Who are you?" asked Philip.

"If you want to rescue your friends…you will come with us," said the first individual, which had a male voice.

"And if I refuse…"

"You won't see them again. The Holy Order Council has recently gone in the wrong direction thanks to some corruption from within," explained the second individual, which had a female voice.

"Alright…I'll go with you. However…I demand an explanation for this," said Philip, getting his cloak and prepping some smoke grenades and his two P30 pistols secured near his waist. As he followed them outside, he spotted a black Toyota Avalon waiting over on the curb. Once he got near, he saw another hooded figure at the wheel.

"Get in."

As Philip entered from the back, the other two took the other side. Once seated, the one with a male voice then handed Philip a cup containing some sort of black liquid.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Drink it and don't ask any questions," he shot back.

"Do you want to help your friends?" asked the driver.

Philip was annoyed at first, but then found it better to just go along for now. He took it in one gulp and made a grimacing expression. The stuff tasted horrible, like juices from rotten grapes. Seconds later, Philip felt himself feeling really drowsy.

"Wh-what…are you…guys?" he asked, in a weak voice.

"You will know soon enough," came the reply. But it was so faint from the drug's effects that Philip went out like a light.

The one driving the car took off the hood, revealing a young woman with long aquamarine hair with light green eyes. The person sitting next to her had brown hair and purple eyes, while the guy that gave Philip the sleeping draft had black hair and blue eyes.

"Do you think it was necessary to do that to him Captain Lindy?" asked the one with brown hair.

"It's the only way to not show them what we have up our sleeve Amy," answered the one with black hair.

"That may be true; however…that boy appears to be the key to trying and solving this dilemma. Chrono…I'll leave you with dealing the infiltration details," replied Capt. Lindy.

"Understood Captain," he replied, looking over at Philip's sleeping form.

'Hopefully he doesn't do anything that compromises the mission.'

As the helicopter approached headquarters, Kaname became nearly silent throughout the whole way...until they landed.

"Did the commander notice Capt. Patrick's awkward behavior?" he asked.

"Yes...he did. We're trying to figure out whatever it was he was taking," said Capt. Jason.

As the three of them entered, Kaname felt the head of an AK47 poke his back as one of the paladin soldiers told him to keep going. His eyes quickly scanned the building as he searched for the building layout of the base till he spotted it as they approached the elevator. Once inside, Kaname looked over Capt. Jason's shoulder and spotted the exact same layout on one of the sides of the elevator and memorized it in seconds as they were going up.

Reo and Subaru were placed in a different holding cell than Luke was. While their holding cell had bars made from energy, his was a metal cage. Subaru looked at Luke with a sad look yet inside anger started to boil within her. The cold air made the wounds from the whips sting. Some were still deep while the minor ones healed.

"That's not just an insult…it's disrespectful," said Reo.

"I wouldn't argue with you on that one," said a voice.

"Who's there?" wondered Subaru.

The two then spotted a couple of old men wearing dark red robes with golden linings at the edges. The left side had a staff while the right had a cross. Reo looked at them carefully before letting out a surprised gasp.

"You guys...it can't be," he said.

By the time Kaname and the others reached the designated floor and exited, he was then led to the council chamber which had a high curved table and four seats. One for each of the council members. As soon as Kaname saw the seats were empty, he immediately knew something was wrong. The paladins that were escorting him, Commander Remington, and Capt. Jason had left the room. However, Kaname didn't feel Capt. Jason slip a small vial into the right pocket of his uniform when the doors closed.

"Alright...enough with the charade. What's going on here?" asked Kaname.

"There were supposed to be two members to come in and question you. We've received word that they had arrived. We're not sure as to their whereabouts at the moment," answered Capt. Jason.

"So why did you bring me here?" asked Kaname.

"We need your help in trying to figure out what Capt. Patrick has been taking lately. Some of the other commanders and a few of the soldiers assigned to your group have been giving reports about his erratic behavior," answered Commander Remington. "Some presume it's drugs...others say it's stress and that he might not be getting a lot of sleep."

Kaname then fished into his pocket and pulled out the vial that Capt. Jason slipped in. The contents had a dark colored liquid with a hint of red in it.

"I came across it when I was closing up one time after our branch was summoned for another investigation while you were undercover," answered Capt. Jason. "The contents look similar to blood."

"There's no way that he could have been a vampire unless he somehow fell under their influence," said Kaname. "Also...the blood of vampires are black...not a dark red."

"So...what is it?" asked Commander Remington.

"First off...did you guys notice anything weird on his body? Like markings or anything?" asked Kaname.

"Wait...now that you've mentioned it...I did see some sort of strange mark on his neck...not bite marks...but...something that resembled a snake with wings on its body," answered Capt. Jason.

As soon as the description hit Kaname's ears, his eyes widened in surprise and shock.

"Oh no," he said faintly. "This isn't good."

"What? What is it?" asked the commander.

"Did he say where he found the vial?" asked Kaname.

"He said some strange woman wearing a purple dress had given it to him," replied Capt. Jason.

'Precia,' he thought.

"If the vial isn't vampire blood...then what is it?" asked Commander Remington.

Kaname became silent for a brief moment before looking at them and said, "Demon blood."

"Just as one would expect from someone that's of royal lineage...although ironically I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet," said a familiar voice.

"Funny coming from one that easily got jealous because of my skill that got me through the ranks up to captain," said Kaname. "Isn't that right...Capt. Patrick?"

The three of them turned around to see a figure hooded in a black robe with red lines near the edges running all around. Kaname noticed something a bit different as he saw that Patrick appeared to be wearing some sort of black armor.

"What's with the medieval outfit Patrick?" asked Capt. Jason.

"Funny you should ask since one of you have been trying to keep tabs on me," he replied.

"Then perhaps you wouldn't mind explaining...this," said Kaname, pulling out the vial with dark red liquid.

"How'd you get that?" he asked, a bit surprised.

"I have my ways of getting information. More importantly...I could ask you the same thing as to what type of information you were leaking and to whom," replied Kaname.

"I grew sick and tired of the fact that just because the commander considered you one of his favorite students," shot back Patrick.

"So you consorted with a vampire that is possibly controlled under dark powers who then gave you this," guessed Kaname, holding up the vial.

At the revelation being out in the open, Capt. Patrick couldn't help but smirk.

"What's so amusing?" asked Commander Remington.

"For once I never considered you to be the bright type, Kaname," he jested.

"That's a lot of arrogant bull coming from the person that was so willing to sell out his entire squad just because he had a hunger for power," shot back Kaname.

"Why'd you do it?" asked Jason.

"Simple...I gave her the information she wanted...in return, she gave me a bit of her strength," he answered.

"You have absolutely no clue as to what you're messing with," said Kaname.

"And I suppose you do?" inquired Patrick.

"All I know is that the more of this stuff you take, the more you're letting whatever influence is influencing you take hold," he answered.

"You don't get it do you?" asked the captain. "Do you even know what that stuff is for?"

Kaname analyzed every aspect of the armor that Capt. Patrick was wearing until he saw what appeared to be small holes within the arm protection part of the armor.

"It's for the armor," guessed Kaname.

Meanwhile, back in the holding cells, Subaru was just as surprised to see two of them after the first one name Paul Morgan explained the situation to Reo. The other member's name was John Alexander.

"So if you guys were here to warn someone...how did you end up in here?" wondered Subaru.

"Our small platoon was escorting us to this base after we landed. However, along the way, the team got ambushed and we got separated. We sent word to a certain team that works with the Holy Council but we are unsure as to their whereabouts," said Paul.

"What exactly was the message that you were trying to convey and to who were you trying to send it to?" asked Reo.

"Recently, things have been going out of hand in the Council lately. Younger ones are starting to take the seats that we used to have and are starting to abuse their positions. One of team members that we managed to contact before arriving here received a small piece of footage regarding a lab somewhere in Europe," explained Paul.

"What was going on in the lab?" asked Reo.

"Illegal experiments...using vials of blood that wasn't human," replied John.

"What color was it?" asked Subaru.

"Some were black...others were dark red," answered Paul.

"That's not good," said Reo.

"What isn't?" asked Subaru.

"Black blood belongs to vampires...but dark red..." he began, but stopped short.

"What...what kind is it?" asked Subaru.

"Demonic," replied Reo.

"Why in all things holy would someone do such an atrocious act?" asked Paul.

"Someone's got a grudge that's for sure," said Reo. "Question is...who?"

"I can give you three guesses as to who," said another voice.

They turned in the direction of the person speaking and three people stepped out. One had light brown hair and blue eyes, wearing archaeological attire, while the other had blue hair and brown eyes. They were then followed by two paladins behind them. The first archaeologist was named Nolan and the other was Christopher. The paladins behind them introduced themselves as Tyler Maxton, a Lieutenant paladin and the other one beside him was Andrew Richardson, one of the soldiers under Kaname's command.

As Chrono and the others were making their way towards the base, Philip slowly began to come to his senses after the drug he just ingested.

"What the hell did you give me?" asked Philip.

"Oh...looks like he's awake," said Amy.

"First off...who the heck are you guys? Second...what side are you on?" asked Philip.

"Sorry about what we did to you awhile ago," said Capt. Lindy.

She then introduced herself as well as Chrono and Amy and told Philip that they were a special unit dispatched from the Holy Order Council and were sent to monitor the activities of a certain vampire leader and also trying to keep a protective detail on a certain individual.

"We've been trying to get in contact with one of the members of the Council but haven't heard back from him. We suspected something was up so that was when we decided to contact you in order to help us," explained Chrono.

"You could have just notified me in a way that didn't involve having to drug me," retorted Philip.

"We did what we had to so that the enemy wouldn't know our hand," answered Capt. Lindy.

"So...if all four factions are caught in some sort of a conflict...what exactly is the cause?" asked Philip.

"We're still not sure as to what the cause is but we have a hunch that someone or something is pulling the strings behind all these events," said Chrono.

Back over in the council chamber, Capt. Patrick sneered at the trio as they finally managed to have him cough up the reason for his treachery.

"You're nothing more than a fool to fall for such a trick," scoffed Capt. Jason.

"Unfortunately for you fools, the seeds of deception have already been sown. Soon the dark forces will gather and be free of their shackles and there's nothing you can do to stop it," snickered Capt. Patrick.

"Like hell there isn't," shot back Kaname, unsheathing Vanguard and pulling out one of his 39Rs.

With a snap of his fingers, four hooded figures descended and surrounded the trio. The three of them were back to back, weapons drawn. The figures somehow surprisingly appeared to be floating and were wielding weapons such as a sickle on a chain, a mace, and a longsword.

"Something tells me that bullets won't work on these guys," said Capt. Jason.

"Yeah...you're right," said Kaname. "What do we do?"

"I'll try and create a distraction while you guys go and free those in the holding cells," replied Commander Remington.

"Forget it captain. I'm not leaving you," said Capt. Jason.

"Listen to me...events are happening that are beyond our comprehension...save one. I need someone to lead the others while another looks after them," he answered. "From now on...you'll be the commander, Jason. Kaname...you've proven yourself through trials that I have sent your group in and have made this unit proud. You'll be leading your own team from now on...as captain."

"We won't fail you sir," said Kaname, placing a hand on his shoulder.

As Commander Remington then provided cover fire and acted as a distraction for Kaname and Jason to get out of the room, Kaname let loose a smokescreen to cover their tracks before taking out a grappling hook and strapping it to himself. Seconds later, a faint groan was heard, and the shots being fired suddenly ceased.

"You know where to go?" asked Jason.

"Yeah...where are you heading?" asked Kaname.

"To the armory in the bottom floor just below the base," he replied.

"Try not to get killed...commander," said Kaname.

"Same with you...captain," replied Jason, saluting.

As the two made their way to their designated destination, a loud explosion rocked the base as Kaname rappelled down to the first floor. Seconds later, Kaname found himself running through several corridors until he spotted those same hooded figures from before appearing in front of him. What caught his attention however was the fact that they appeared to be wearing some sort of skull mask. Kaname then charged forward, sword at the ready, as the one facing him ran towards him with a scythe. The shadowy figure then swung at Kaname, but missed as he ducked and then knocked away the scythe with his sword before pointing his 39R at its head and fired a solar bullet, giving a crack at the mask and then watched as it turned to dust.

He then realized that these things...whatever they were, could be killed...if done the right way. After dispatching three more that were blocking his way towards the holding cells, Kaname then found the lock combination pad next to the door to the prison. Sliding in the key, Kaname then entered the password that Commander Jason had told him and managed to unlock the door.

"Guys...someone's coming," said Subaru.

Once Kaname stepped through, he became surprised to see Andrew in one of the cells...as well as another paladin soldier. Luke and his pack were in a separate cell near them, while Reo and Subaru's were adjacent from another holding cell.

"Couldn't have come at a better time, mate," said Reo.

"You guys OK?" asked Kaname, as he entered the same code for the cells.

"Yeah. What happened back there?" asked Subaru.

"I'll explain later. By the way...did you guys hear that explosion earlier?" asked Kaname.

"Yeah...but we don't know where it came from," said Reo.

Kaname turned around and noticed the ones that they were with were Holy Council members.

"Good to see you Kaname," said Paul.

"Your honor...I'm glad to see that you're not hurt," said Kaname, genuflecting.

"Nothing too bad. We'll need to get the rest of your allies out as well," said Paul.

"You do know that one of my companions is..." began Kaname.

"A lycan...yes...we know," said Paul.

"Um guys...not to cut this reunion short or anything but...considering there's a battle going on...what's your plan on getting us out of here?" asked Andrew.

"Is that any way to talk to your new captain?" asked Kaname.

"Whoa...captain?" inquired Reo. "Since when?"

Lieutenant Maxton...how'd you get into this mess?" wondered Kaname, as he finished unlocking the remaining cells.

"I'll explain later. In the meantime...what are you suggestions?" he asked.

"We'll get to the rest of the explanations later. Right now, Commander Jason is heading to the armory. We should meet up with him at the center of the base and then head to the control room. There's a hidden passageway that leads to the hangar doors. We'll get out that way. There's also two helicopters in the hangar that we can use," explained Kaname. "Any words from the pilots?"

"They're being kept under watch by some of Patrick's lackeys," said the lieutenant.

"I've just run into a few of them. You still remember your swordsmanship, lieutenant?" asked Kaname.

"Are you kidding me? I may not have been born yesterday but I know I can still kick your butt," joked Maxton.

"Only because I _let_ you," answered Kaname.

"_Let_ me...Kaname, you could barely keep up with me before you started to sweat," he replied.

"Not with what I've just faced. This is different," replied Kaname. He then turned to Reo and Subaru.

"Alright, listen up. Reo and Subaru stay close to Lieutenant Maxton and Andrew. You four will provide cover for the Council members. Luke's pack will follow behind and try to dispatch any of Patrick's lackeys that come near your circle. Keep it nice and tight and make sure no one gets inside," he explained. "Lieutenant Maxton should take front and center, Andrew...provide cover when possible. Luke's pack will stay in between the rest of you guys, while he guards the rear."

"You got it captain," said Andrew.

"Interesting plan...I'm in," said Lieutenant Maxton.

"I'll go check on Jason and be back as soon as I can," said Kaname, going ahead of them.

As he scanned left and right, in the distance Kaname could hear metal clashing against metal as well as shots being fired off. He eventually found the same hooded figures he fought earlier blocking his path to get to the main hallway. One of them wielding a scythe on a chain, and the other a mace on a chain.

'Wait a second...these guys must have been the ones from earlier,' thought Kaname, having Vanguard on his left hand at the ready, and his right hand poised to pull the trigger when he managed to get the upper hand on them. The first one with the chained mace made the first move and began to swing it around before trying to land a blow. Kaname simply dodged and struck with his sword, at one of the presumed limbs of the figure, taking out the mace and then pointing the 39R at the mask and fired off a round, destroying it. The second one oddly enough...fled.

'These guys are starting to become a real pain,' thought Kaname, as he managed to finally get out and found himself almost literally in the middle of a conflict and a firefight. Kaname spotted a small group of paladins fending off those same creatures that he fought in the city, while another group he didn't recognize was trading fire with what appeared to be rogue vampires. However, looking carefully, he spotted a familiar individual among them.

"Philip?" he inquired.

"Kaname...over here," shouted his partner, as he provided cover fire.

As Kaname ran over to where his partner was, several of the creatures he fought in the city began to gang up and surround him, until several shots were heard near him. Turning around he saw Com. Jason return with several swords, sub-machine guns, as well as assault rifles strapped to him. He was currently using an MP-9 and providing cover fire. The shots were enough to cause the flying four-legged creatures to scatter, providing the others an open window to get through the firefight. Jason looked over at where Kaname had come out from and spotted Reo and the others providing cover for a couple of individuals. Luke and his pack began to dispatch the rouge vampires as the others made their way over to where Kaname and Philip were.

"What the hell is going on here?" asked Kaname, as soon as he joined up with his partner.

"We'll explain later. Right now...the important thing is to get the others out first," replied Chrono, as he began launching attacks with his device that seemed to resemble a staff. Several light blue daggers formed in front of them until they were unleashed and sent flying towards the enemy.

"Who are these guys?" asked Reo.

"They're a special unit created by the Holy Order Council whom you happen to be protecting," answered Philip.

"What were those things that I fought a while ago?" asked Kaname.

"If you're referring to the creatures that look faceless, have wings, and can also walk on four legs...they're called Devourers," answered Chrono.

"We can catch up later with the details. Right now, we need to provide cover fire while the others get to the hangar," said Jason.

"Easier said than done," said Kaname, taking one of his solar bullet magazines, an MP-9 that Com. Jason managed to pick up, loaded up, and began to take down the small group of Devourers that were trying to advance on them.

As Reo, Subaru, Paul, John, Andrew, and Tyler made their way to the hangar with Luke's pack, Kaname, Philip, and Chrono keeping the enemy busy, several jeeps were waiting outside with paladins on standby. Capt. Lindy gave the signal for three platoons to move in while the last one set up a perimeter. Lieutenant Maxton then started up one of the helicopters outside and got in the pilot's seat. Subaru was sitting in the back, while Reo manned one of the Gatling guns.

"You're a pilot, sir?" asked Reo.

"Served in the air force for 5 years. I've been in a few helicopters before...particularly the Apache Attack Helicopter," he answered.

Chrono and the others fell back as the three deployed paladin platoons went in. Capt. Lindy guided Paul and John to one of the jeeps, while Commander Jason and Luke as well as the rest of his pack then got into the other jeeps. Kaname looked around and spotted his motorcycle along with the black Audi also in the hangar. Turning to his partner, he explained that he was going to get into the helicopter and provide cover.

"What about the Audi?" asked Philip.

"Take it back to base...luckily the program DATS can bring the motorcycle back to base without me. I programmed it to do that just in case of such an emergency," he answered.

"Try not to get shot down," said Philip.

"I'll try," said Kaname, getting into the helicopter and manning the second Gatling gun turret.

When everyone was accounted for, one by one they left the base, with the helicopter piloted by Lieutenant Maxton leaving last. Kaname could hear despite the noise from the helicopter's blades, that the former Capt. Patrick had sent out some of his Devourers to pursue them, as well as some of the rouge vampires. He tried to dispatch the helicopter, but was unsuccessful.

"Everyone secured?" called out Lieutenant Maxton from the speakers in the headset.

"We're good here sir," said Kaname, while Subaru gave the thumbs up to also indicate she was fine.

"Sir...we've got incoming...closing in fast on our six 'o clock," said Reo, spotting a small wave of Devourers.

"Alright...hang on...I'll try and lure them away from the convoy," said the lieutenant.

Moving the stick to the right caused the helicopter to make a hard right, causing Reo's chest to hit the panel of the Gatling gun a bit hard. As a result...the first batch of Devourers overshot them.

"Ow...take it easy with that would ya?" asked Reo.

"Well...I told you to hang on," he said.

Kaname turned his Gatling gun to the right and using his eyes scanned his side of the sky. He then asked Lieutenant Maxton as to the type of rounds that were in the Gatling guns.

"Solar rounds...tracer type," he replied.

'Perfect,' thought Kaname.

"Guys...we've still got another batch stuck on our six o'clock," called out Reo.

"We've also got some in the front as well. Try to take out the ones behind us," said Kaname.

"Easier said than done. You got the easy part," replied Reo.

"Clam up and start shooting," shot back Kaname, as he eyed the first two Devourers on the left in a formation of four and pulled the trigger, causing the other two to split off.

"Reo...two of them have split off...try and locate them," shouted Kaname.

"What about the ones in the back?" asked Reo.

"I've got this...just look for the other two and hope they don't surprise us," he answered, as he swung his turret to the left and locked on to the second wave, unleashing a barrage of bullets in a quick sweep. His ears then picked up flapping of wings and looking up, saw a third wave coming from above.

"Damn it...we've got incoming, twelve 'o clock high, closing in fast," shouted Kaname.

"Hold on to your hats...this is going to be a bit rough," said Lieutenant Maxton, as he pulled the stick left, and then pulled back. This caused the helicopter to move sharply to the left, before turning and facing west.

Looking down at where the third wave had just come in, Kaname then took a quick glance down and his eyes widened as he realized what was going on.

"They're heading for the convoy," shouted Kaname.

"That's not good. Hang on," said the lieutenant, as he pushed the stick forward, causing the helicopter to dive down and get within shooting range of the Devourers.

"Lieutenant...try and get close to where the convoy is heading," said Kaname.

"I can't...we'll be reaching the city in a bit," he replied.

"DATS...you read?" asked Kaname.

"Loud and clear sir," replied the program.

"Autopilot disengage now," he ordered.

"Disengaging autopilot in 10 seconds."

"Get me close to the motorcycle...I'll handle things from there. Try and provide as much cover as you can," ordered Kaname.

"I'll do what I can," said Lieutenant Maxton, pushing the stick slightly forward.

As the motorcycle came into view, Kaname then shouted, "Can these guns go on automatic?"

"Unfortunately no," answered the lieutenant.

"Autopilot disengaging in 5...4...3..."

"Reo...I'm counting on you to provide cover," said Kaname, as he prepared to jump.

"Are you crazy...at this rate and height...you could possibly miss," shouted Reo.

"I haven't missed...yet," he replied, as he leapt from the helicopter, and onto his motorcycle.

"Autopilot now disengaged," replied the program.

Increasing the throttle, Kaname then went ahead of the convoy before giving it a hard swing to the left and heading the opposite direction, straight into the formation of the Devourers. The helicopter then went back up to provide cover from above. Kaname then pulled out his sword Vanguard, and prepared to target the nearest Devourer. The rate that both sides were going was so close that from above it looked a dogfight on the deck.

Kaname's instincts shot through so fast that it was only milliseconds from him getting thrown off by the claws if he hadn't swung before it moved, slicing off one of the wings before pointing his 39R and firing off several rounds. One of the rounds, going through its head, dissolving the rest of the body in ash as it burst into flames.

The remaining three in the formation disengaged and went to target the helicopter. Kaname gave a quick glance up before throwing his sword and firing off the remaining rounds in the magazine at a second Devourer, clipping one of the wings, causing it to lose control before the sword sliced off the other wing.

As he increased the throttle to get back his sword as it hit the ground...Kaname's ears faintly picked up the sound of rounds going off in the sky. The helicopter that Lieutenant Maxton and Reo were in began engaging the remaining Devourers. Once Kaname picked up his sword however, he looked up again and saw the remaining wave approach from behind as well as the two that he scared off join them.

Reo tried to engage until the lieutenant told him on his headset to jump. He protested about leaving him behind but the lieutenant repeated the order.

"There should be a couple of parachutes in the back. Grab those and get out of here," ordered Lieutenant Maxton.

"What about you?" asked Subaru.

"I'll hold them off until you guys managed to escape. It's been nice knowing you guys...even if it was only for a short while," he replied. "_That_...is an order."

Reo was hesitant to leave the turret, before he heaved an annoyed sigh and grabbed the parachutes. He then lead Subaru by the hand before they jumped off as the remaining Devourers swarmed around the helicopter.

Kaname then called out to Philip via comlink and told him to try and pick them up as he tried to lead the others to safety.

"I'm on it," he replied.

Kaname could hear the screams of the Devourers as they closed in on the helicopter before heading off to join the convoy.

However, unbeknownst to him, one of the hooded figures Kaname engaged from the base was suddenly on his tail and wielded a chained scythe, aimed right at him. Kaname noticed it on his rearview mirror and tried to engage, but the shadowy figure was quicker and launched its weapon. Seconds before hitting however, a yellow energy scythe blade sliced through the enemy, causing it to vanish completely. Looking up, Kaname saw a familiar blonde haired girl floating above him.

"This is an unexpected surprise," said Kaname.

"Consider that as being even for tonight," she replied.

"You're welcome to join us if you'd like," offered Kaname.

"I appreciate the offer, but unfortunately...I'm a little busy," replied Fate, flying off into the night.

Philip managed to nab Reo and Subaru as they landed and were placed in the back of the Audi as he rejoined Kaname and the convoy as they headed for a different base.

"What happened to the lieutenant?" asked Kaname on the com-link.

"He...he didn't make it," said Subaru.

"Crashed as he tried to fight off the Devourers," added Reo.

"I see," he replied, increasing throttle.

As they headed through the streets of Tokyo and through the Shibuya district, they eventually found themselves heading towards the old neighborhoods. The black jeeps then parked near a driveway which was near an alley and the others eventually followed suit.

Once everyone disembarked, Capt. Lindy Harlaown then introduced Chrono and Amy to Kaname and the others and explained the current situation that has transpired.

"We've been keeping an eye out of any suspicious activity that could cause any complications for quite some time," added Chrono, as he pushed a flower marking on a lightpost, revealing a hidden passageway near where Reo and Subaru were standing. As they headed downstairs, Kaname then filled Capt. Lindy Harlaown with the details up to the confrontation with Capt. Patrick.

"This is where we would normally operate," said Chrono, inputting a code into a lock. The door lifted up revealing a huge room that to Kaname…looked a little similar to his own, except for a few things such as a conference room, several garage holdings, and a communications room.

"You guys said that you're a special branch, like you're similar to that of the Holy Order Council," said Philip.

"They commissioned us because of our unique talents and skills," answered Chrono.

"How can we be sure that you guys are here to help?" asked Kaname.

"Because I was the one that enlisted their aid to help you guys," said a voice. Kaname, Capt. Jason, Philip, Reo, and Subaru

Nanoha turned to the person speaking. The hooded figure then stepped out of the shadows and stood near Chrono.

"Is she an ally or a spy?" wondered Subaru.

The cloaked person finally took off the hood, unveiling a stunningly beautiful young woman with dark red hair and silver eyes. Kaname immediately recognized those eyes and his partner noticed he had the exact same as she did.

"They're the same…then that means…" began Philip.

"Hello Kaname," she said.

Kaname stared long and hard and was shocked for a brief second before he uttered the word that surprised them all.

"Mother?"

**Hey guys...I know that summer is already almost over and all but unfortunately...my classes have already begun. I'll try and update whenever I can and for those that have reviewed and like what they've read so far...thanks for the support. I know I seem to be adding a lot of OCs and it might sound like they might overtake the story...but I assure you, most of them are minor characters and I know which ones are my major supporting OCs so I'm trying to keep them around as much as possible, and knowing which ones I plan on killing off. However, later on things will change and by the time of the huge battle near the end of this first part of the fanfic project...things will be different among a few OCs and the paths of a few CC might change as well. Biggest challenge will be trying to keep the CC from becoming OOC. Oh well...might as well do the best I can.**

**R/R onegai.**


	7. Chapter 6

Ch. 6: Revelations & Reunion

Everyone else, except for Chrono, Amy, and Lindy, stared at Kaname first, and then the young woman in front of them and then back at Kaname. Nobody spoke a word for almost like…a couple of minutes before Kaname broke the silence.

"Is it really you?" asked Kaname.

"Yes…it's me," she replied.

A huge tidal wave of emotion suddenly washed over him as he almost felt glued to the spot and was almost at a loss for words. Without a second thought, he rushed up to his mother and embraced her.

"You've grown Kaname," she said. Looking up for a brief moment, she then saw the small group that gathered near him, their faces mixed with a feeling of confusion and surprise. Kaname then let go of his mother and tried to regain his composure.

"My name is Selendia," she said, introducing herself. "I was the former Queen of the Crescent Quartet."

"Queen?" wondered Nanoha.

"The Crescent Quartet?" wondered Philip.

"Those that were part of this family had a certain insignia on their right hand. Siblings would have a mirrored image of a particular insignia on their right hand," replied a familiar voice.

"I'd recognize that voice easily," said Kaname.

He turned to his left and then spotted a familiar hooded young man coming out from the shadows. It was the same person with long blonde hair, light green eyes, was wearing glasses, a green vest with faded gold lining at the edges, and a light brown cloak.

"Ah…Yunno Scrya, the archivist that I've heard about," acknowledged Philip.

"That would be me," he said.

"Capt. Lindy Harlaown, Chrono, and Amy have been taking care of me and Mr. Scrya while waiting on you guys," explained Selendia.

"What were those hooded shadow figures I fought earlier?" asked Kaname.

"They're known as Darkhearts…sort of like scouts for demons," answered Capt. Lindy.

"Are those Devourers a product of demonic influence somehow?" asked Philip.

"In a way…they sort of are," answered Chrono. "However…that should be the least of your problems," said Chrono, turning on several monitors.

What Kaname and the others saw caught them completely by surprise. Rows of capsules filled with people that had tubes attached to their bodies in some sort of preserving liquid.

"Who would do such an inhumane thing?" asked Subaru.

"According to our intelligence…several paladin captains have held a grudge against the Council and have secretly hunted down both sides to try and extract some tissue samples from them in hopes of creating some serum that would apply the abilities from either sides in hopes of creating super soldiers," explained Lindy.

"So someone has been making secret deals with both sides and they didn't even know about it," said Commander Jason.

"Any clues as to why someone would want to…experiment with forces that is beyond one's control?" inquired Kaname.

"One of you said it before during the escape…someone has a bone to pick with the old Council. A reason that either sounds personal…or egotistical," said Andrew.

"Why would someone want to do that?" asked Subaru.

"Like with any government…if the community/country doesn't like the way the government is being run and finds it oppressive and tyrannical…then they try and overthrow it," answered Kaname.

"However…if it's an organization that is slowly transitioning and getting new leadership…and then that suddenly gets dismantled…things will either go into chaos or confusion at that point," added Philip.

Seconds later, Kaname spotted something black in a capsule that was in between two other longer capsules.

"Philip…can you try and enhance that?" asked Kaname, pointing to what his eye caught on in the video.

Philip rewound the video footage to the spot Kaname had interest in, froze the frame, and then tried to enhance the image.

It took a minute or two to get the image clear enough to distinguish. Kaname turned to Yuuno and asked, "Would you consider that demonic in nature?"

"I can't tell exactly," he replied.

"Can you try and enhance it a bit further and zoom in?" asked Reo.

"I can give it a shot," said Philip.

Philip tried his best to enhance the image further which revealed the black spot to be a fragment of a black gem.

"A black fragment…what's it doing there?" wondered Subaru.

"That's not possible," said Yuuno.

"What is it?" asked Kaname.

"There's a book I have regarding artifacts of demonic nature. There's only one artifact I could think of that has something that thin and small," said the archivist.

"Which is…" asked Capt. Lindy.

"Drachenauge," replied Selendia. "It's German for 'Dragon's Eye'."

Yuuno picked up a battered old black book and began skimming through the pages till he eventually found what he was looking for.

"The Dragon's Eye is one of three pieces that gives proof of the Demon King. Whoever possesses the other two will be the new Dark Ruler," said Yuuno, reading from the text.

"What are the other two?" asked Subaru.

"The other two are the Crown of Darkness, and the Gauntlets of Necromancy."

"There's been something that has been on my mind for a while now that I think about it," said Kaname.

"What is it partner?" asked Philip.

"The Holy Order Council is supposed to act like a buffer of sorts with regards to the supernatural, correct? If that's the case…then what of the artifacts?"

"They're actually more afraid of them than most would even let on," said Selendia.

"What do you mean mother?" asked Kaname.

"There's more to the reason as to why they would fear whoever would possess those items," said Yuuno.

Kaname became silent for a moment before deciding to head out for a bit.

"Where are you heading?" asked Reo.

"Just out for a bit," he replied.

"You're going to see her aren't you?" guessed his mother.

"Who?" asked Subaru.

"Fate…Fate Testarossa," replied Selendia. "Some consider her a vampire…but…I know one when I see one."

"You're familiar with the name?" asked Capt. Lindy.

"I've come across her once…long ago, and yet she faintly shows a demonic presence," she replied.

"So…she was possibly made using demonic energy?" asked Chrono.

"That's what it appears to be," she replied.

By the time Kaname got set and opened the garage, he went back to the main room, up the stairs, and into the armory before coming out with two Beretta 93R, a samurai sword strapped to his left side, and several flashbangs around his belt.

"Does he always carry light weapons?" asked Selendia.

"Your son is more versatile when not having too much things to weigh him down," said Philip, manning the monitors.

"I won't be long," said Kaname, as he revved up his engines and rode out into the night.

He guessed that sooner or later it would be early morning and that the time was roughly around 10:00 p.m. It was not until he saw a shadowy figure move from rooftop to rooftop that Kaname realized either he was being followed or Fate sent someone else instead…presumably…her Familiar. After making a right on the next intersection, he made a stop at a nearby alleyway and waited, with his right hand holding the Beretta with caution. Scanning the area, he noted several trash bags and a couple of huge trash bins around, both on the right side before his eyes caught a chain-link fence ahead. Suddenly, his ears caught that familiar "whoosh" sound indicating someone was here and quickly turned around to see a familiar orange haired dog eared female, and raised it to see Arf.

"I had a feeling she'd send you," said Kaname.

"I had a feeling that you'd probably want to talk to her. She currently on an errand at the moment," said Arf.

"There's something I don't get though about her," said Kaname.

"What's that?" she wondered.

"Some say she's a vampire, but I know one when I see one. Yet…with her, I sense some sort of…dark presence that surrounds her, telling me that she's neither lycan nor vampire. What is she then?" asked Kaname.

"I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that question," she replied.

"I believe you know one that does. However…I think I've discovered something that could prove to be fatal to all of us. I need to see the one in charge of the vampiric archives," said Kaname.

"That's going to cost you then," said a familiar voice.

Kaname looked up to see Fate's mentor drop down from behind and walk toward them.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Arf…leave us for a moment," said Vercossa.

"As you wish," she replied, and leapt towards the rooftops and out of sight.

Once Vercossa and Kaname were alone for sure, Kaname placed his drawn Beretta back into the strap that held it.

"What do you know of demons?" asked Kaname.

"Besides the fact that they have caused problems for us, not very much compared to paladins," said Vercossa.

"What if I told you that there was a set of artifacts that if found and performing the ritual…would allow one to control a legion of demons?" asked Kaname.

"I'm listening," she said.

"I think this so-called fight is just a cover up…not by vampires, lycans, or beastmen," said Kaname.

"You think it's one of your own," guessed Vercossa.

"Exactly," he said.

"So why come out this late at night to warn us?" asked Vercossa.

"It's because of Fate. I know she was sent to look in on a certain girl but something tells me that some events will unfold that might take this further than it should. I know the rules from centuries ago might still apply but I think they need to be modified," said Kaname.

"You ask for much…but I'm still curious…why would you turn your back on your own kind despite your nature?" asked Vercossa.

"I'll tell you in exchange for the information to the vampire archivist," said Kaname.

"Very well…the archivist's name is Armandis. He can be found near the station that is named after a certain famous samurai. That is all I know," said Vercossa.

Kaname stared long and hard, using his abilities and found that her aura indicated that she was acting calm, but something in the back of his head told him that he shouldn't lower his guard down so willingly.

"I keep myself on a low profile as much as I can, and only hunt outside the city, never fed on a human and I actually have some distrust in vampire politics despite knowing that they have been running political campaigns for centuries," said Kaname.

As Kaname left the alley, Vercossa then said, "You think that Fate might…fall for this girl do you?"

"It's a possibility that can or can't be overlooked," said Kaname, putting on his helmet. "Besides…I'm sure you already know the answer to your question."

By the time he sped off, Kaname kept a close eye on his side mirrors to try and catch anything out of the ordinary. It was not until he spotted something yellow heading in his direction that Kaname hit the brakes, swerved the bike sideways and took out the samurai sword and caught the projectile before slicing it in half.

"I should've known something was up," he muttered. Looking over in the distance, he saw a figure floating in the night sky. It was not until he saw what appeared to be an energy scythe blade coming at him that Kaname realized he had no choice but to use the sword to deflect the attack. Using the visor, DATS was able to analyze the figure in the sky…but what caught his surprise was that what he thought was Fate attacking him turned out not to be the case. Kaname decided to test it out by firing a few rounds, to which it went through the figure.

"A projection…but who could…" wondered Kaname. As he looked on again, the "apparition" had disappeared. Apparently, the controller of the projection also eventually saw Kaname through it and was wearing attire that resembled that of the medieval era as well as a hat with a feather and smirked. He had sent the projection from the rooftops and then decided to leave and let the events that were to come to take its course.

As Kaname was heading back, he used DATS to contact Philip and told him the information that Vercossa told him. However, the expression on his partner's face told Kaname that something was bothering him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Why are you so willing to trust her even though we can't fully be sure whether or not she's a friend or foe?" asked Philip.

"Because of the way she seems to care for Fate's well being," answered Kaname.

"She's a vampire though," said Philip.

"Or that's what someone wants us to believe. There is only one method for it to occur. The whole biting on the neck thing and surviving the encounter is not true. However, if one is buried after being bitten and presumed to be dead and they crawl out of their grave…that is one method (1). The other method simply puts the other as a puppet by giving of the vampire's blood. They then become a food source but are still kept alive and become that vampire's slave (2)," explained Kaname.

"So…if she's not one of them…then how…" began Philip.

"I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that question either my friend," he said. "I need you to look up the name of a train station that is named after a famous samurai."

"It'll take a few minutes for the computer to narrow it down and then I'll send you the name. DATS should be able to find and lead you to it. Let's just hope this archivist is willing to cooperate," said Philip.

"Let's hope so…for both of our sakes," said Kaname, as he pulled up to a nearby gas station and began to refill his tank and then went inside for a quick snack and paid for a small bag of dried anchovies and the gas before heading back out and checking the status of his tank. Once it was filled, DATS began flashing to notify Kaname that an incoming call was waiting. He checked his visor and noticed Philip was waiting.

"What have you got for me Philip?" he asked.

"The name of the train station is called Musashi Station," answered his partner. "I've already sent DATS the information and the pathway to it as well as alternate routes."

"Very good Philip; tell the others that I'll be coming back a bit late and not to wait up for me," said Kaname.

"I'm not sure your mother would approve though," said Philip.

"She knows the reason why I'm doing this," he replied.

"She does?"

"We both share a telepathic connection," answered Kaname. "She is my mother after all."

"Alright…but don't blame me if your rear is the one on fire," he replied.

'_Calculating time and route to Musashi Station_,' chirped DATS, as Kaname started up the engine before taking a few pieces of the dried anchovies and popping them in his mouth. As DATS began tracing up the route to the train station, Kaname was already following the pathway dodging incoming cars that were in the lane he was in. If there was one thing that Kaname realized during the quick conversation between him and Fate's mentor was that they were not the enemy and that someone appeared to be pulling the strings behind the scenes.

He was pretty sure that Precia wasn't the cause but someone else that neither he nor his mother could detect. He noticed that up ahead was a small detour due to work on the street and so Kaname took a quick glance at his map and revved up the engines of his motorcycle and made a hard turn left half a mile from where the detour was located and entered several neighborhood districts several miles ahead until his eyes scanned and found the train tracks as well as the station with the image of a man holding the hilt of his sword.

'_Now arriving at Musashi Station sir_,' chirped the device.

As Kaname parked his motorcycle in between two old houses, he leapt to the train tracks which appeared to be empty before going around and using his eyes found a pathway which led him to an old run down cottage overlooking the area and he set down his helmet near the rocking chair near the door and knocked on the door. When nobody answered, Kaname slowly turned the knob and found that the door was unlocked.

"Hmm…that's strange…either someone has been here, it's abandoned, or…he probably knows he's expecting someone," he said to himself as he slowly entered the premises.

Looking around, Kaname noticed that the layout was pretty basic. On the right was a path that led to the kitchen, to his left was a cabinet, straight ahead was the living room, and as he entered, to his left was a guest room and to his right were a couple of bathrooms. However, right in front of Kaname appeared to be a secret door. As he pulled the door open and saw the flight of stairs descend down, Kaname took several quick glances to make sure that he wasn't going to get jumped before heading down. Below the house appeared to be a tunnel that led somewhere, and yet it was barely illuminated by several light bulbs about a mile apart from each other. Looking around carefully, Kaname then noticed that he appeared to be in a similar setting to that of an underground sewer. There appeared to be brick walls all around and as he went in further, he eventually came across a door and had his sword at the ready before opening it to reveal an individual wearing a white vest and a white jacket sitting cross legged with a cup of tea on his left. It was clear to Kaname that he was in some sort of tea room. The layout was even more basic compared to the house that he just entered a while ago. The floor was wooden, and to his right were a couple of wooden tables. The person appeared to have slightly shaven black hair and was wearing black glasses in which the frame looked wired and the lens itself was small.

"I know what you seek. You are looking for the archivist, are you not?" he asked.

"Yes…I am…and who might you be?" asked Kaname.

"My name is Cathos. I can take you to the archivist but first…I must apologize," he said.

"For what?" inquired Kaname.

"This," said Cathos, as he put his hands together as if saluting before a fight.

What happened next felt like it was going on for an hour despite how quick it ended. Cathos threw a quick jab at Kaname, to which he pulled back before deflecting it with his right arm and tried to land a left hook which hit nothing but air as Cathos dodged before trying to do a sweep kick. Kaname then leapt and spun in midair before using his right hand to catch himself and push upward to bring himself upright facing his adversary. Kaname answered his attack with a low punch which got knocked aside before Cathos tried to elbow him. Their fight continued as they stood on the two wooden tables. Kaname countered by using his left arm to push it aside before using his right hand to try and strike fast like a snake, which got blocked when Cathos used both hands to have Kaname lose coordination. Kaname then responded by a flying bicycle kick to which Cathos leapt back from as if he was gliding and then it reverted to answering roundhouse kick to roundhouse kick and then blocking the other's kick by answering with their own. Cathos then tried to throw a right hook to which Kaname barely dodged and threw a left jab which got parried as Cathos got close and tried to elbow Kaname again with his right until it got blocked by Kaname's left hand before he responded by landing a blow to Cathos' chest while throwing him back with the amount of force put into the jab. It was then that Cathos landed near the edge of the second table before he raised his right hand and said, "Stop…that's good enough." (3)

Kaname relaxed for a bit before asking, "What reason was there for doing that?"

"To see if you were worthy of meeting the archivist in order to get the answers that you seek," said Cathos.

"I suppose that one way of knowing someone is through their fighting skills," guessed Kaname

"Very good," he replied.

Cathos then moved aside a frame with a painting of what appeared to be an old fisherman fishing in front of a waterfall revealing a red button behind it. Pushing the switch, it revealed a hidden door that lifted from behind where Cathos had sat.

"Now come…the archivist is just up ahead," said Cathos, going ahead. Kaname then snapped out of his stunned reaction regarding this peculiar individual and followed.

As they went further inside the area, Kaname then saw what appeared to be something of a metal safe door that looked really old and had strange markings on it. As Cathos input the combination, Kaname couldn't help but ask, "I suppose you were able to read these markings during your travel as well?"

"That's right," he replied.

A loud hiss emitted from the door as it slowly separated revealing a curved stairway going down. As Kaname followed, his eyes eventually caught sight of several bookshelves, a couple of long wooden ladders and several tables.

As they got closer to the bottom, Kaname was barely able to make out a hooded figure that was standing in the middle of the tables and reading a few books at once and was a bit surprised at first but had a feeling that there was possibly more to this archivist than what he presumed. The hooded figure turned to the oncoming footsteps and Kaname was finally able to see what the archivist really looked like. He had long silver hair, an arrow shaped marking on both cheeks, light brown eyes, a black vest, a gray jacket, and long black slacks.

"You must be Armandis," said Kaname.

"I was told that I would eventually be expecting someone that was seeking answers to questions that most others wouldn't have understood. I didn't expect the prince of the Crimson Quartet to come and grace my archival library," he replied.

"You know who I am?" asked Kaname.

"Of course…a certain individual told me of you," replied Armandis.

"Do you happen to know someone by the name of Vercossa?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact…I do," replied the archivist. "We were once…close."

"How close?" inquired Kaname.

"Quite…in a manner…we were once…as you could possibly say…lovers," said Armandis. "Tell me…young prince, what reason have you come that your presence should grace my library?"

"I was told by another archivist that you have some information regarding certain…keys. These artifacts would grant the wielder to control a massive demonic army at whim," answered Kaname.

"Tell me young prince…have you heard of red fragments called the Crimson Fangs?" asked Armandis.

"I don't think I have," he replied.

"Then it appears we are to be here for a while. Cathos, would you be so kind as to prepare some tea for us?" requested Armandis.

"Of course sir," he replied, giving a graceful bow before heading back up.

Kaname looked carefully at the archivist before he spotted a slight hint of red and then looked carefully at Armandis.

"It appears to me that there is more to you than what has been revealed already, Armandis," said Kaname.

"So it would be the same with you…hybrid," said the archivist.

Kaname then stared long and hard at Armandis for a brief moment and said, "How do you…"

"We archivists not only keep record of major events through history, but also of families as well…such as your family, dear prince," said Armandis. "So…shall we begin?"

**Sorry for the long delay ladies and gentlemen. Lately I've been busy with schoolwork and trying to catch up with some of my studies. I'll try and continue as much as I can do, since I've slowly started to regain my rhythm a bit as well as momentum. The next couple of chapters will not only cover a bit more detail regarding Fate's mentor, but also the connection between the artifacts that were mentioned earlier and a bit more background regarding how Fate became the result of a desperate attempt at trying to be like the deceased daughter of Precia and how she was willing to use any means to try and bring her back…hence striking a deal with a crafty demon and gaining access to dark magic which will allow her to work on her "project".**

_**Author's Notes**_**:**

**(2): These small bits were inspired from the book series ****The Mortal Instruments**** by Cassandra Clare.**

**(3) (4): The fight sequence and a couple of those quotes were straight from ****The Matrix Reloaded**** in which Neo fights Seraph before being told about the Oracle's whereabouts.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hi guys…sorry for the long wait. I've been a bit busy with college and some classes. I've tried to fit in as much as I could in order to work on this and I've had to do quite a bit of editing on and off the computer in terms of how I wanted to approach the direction of this fanfic project. As I get closer to finishing part 1, the format for parts 2 and 3 are going to be the same in that there are going to be divided sections in which a certain number of chapters are going to be in each section. Also…after I finish the next chapter…the remaining chapters are going to be a while because of a language that I'm going to try and create with the help of a friend of mine.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Nanoha or any of the characters, except for the ones I've created.**

Chapter 7: Fangs and Misunderstandings

Kaname looked at Armandis for a brief moment before the tea was brought down by Cathos. As the two sat down, Kaname kept a close eye on a small necklace that Armandis wore around his neck. He couldn't clearly see it, but it was protruding from the dress shirt that the archivist was wearing.

"What was your relationship with Vercossa?" asked Kaname.

Armandis laughed for a bit before looking at Kaname briefly. "You are that eager to learn about my past are you?" he inquired.

"No…just how you knew Vercossa before she met…someone else," replied Kaname.

"If you are referring to someone that has…made a deal with a demon…I know a good deal," said Armandis. "However…if you want to know more details about her…why not just ask her yourself?"

"Because I need to know whether or not you can be trusted," he replied.

The two of them were silent for a moment as they drank their tea before Armandis broke his silence.

"Very well…I will tell you," he said.

"It was a long time ago during the Middle Ages and the humans both feared and respected the few vampirical political groups. Mind you, there have been attempts at trying to overthrow others from their seats of power by other families and at times…by humans, yet rarely have they ever succeeded. I served as both an advisor and as a personal guard to a certain family…these individuals happen to be relatives of yours. Of course…this was way before you were born, but let me get back to my story. There was talk of someone that was using humans to gain political support and rumors spreading about a certain individual that was trying to oust one of your relatives out of power. It was when I was doing some investigating of my own that I ran into someone that was willing to help me out. We both shared different viewpoints with regards to humans," he explained.

"Verossa," guessed Kaname, to which Armandis nodded.

"We eventually found out that one night something strange had happened to several humans that came across red fragments in a few rock quarries among other places," said the archivist. "I managed to get close to one of them but the effect it had on me…was nearly indescribable. As soon as I was in range of it, my senses were completely disfigured. Old friends that I once knew suddenly looked demonic and I panicked, the environment looked wavy and warped. The higher ups deemed me either unstable or insane. Verossa was the only one who believed me. She consulted with a hooded individual that handed her a small book with details as to what happened to those exposed."

"The Crimson Fangs," guessed Kaname again, and he received an acknowledged nod.

"It varied in terms of exposure…more precisely, how long the user was exposed to it; in the case of vampires, it went from increased bloodlust to unexplained fits of anger, to hysterics. There were some bits regarding humans and werewolves but I'm not sure if the book was kept or lost. You'd have to ask her," said Armandis. "However…things became a lot worse once someone found out about the shadow fragments and what they did when exposed. No one knew how to get rid of them and yet word spread of various individuals that had abilities that could destroy them."

"Mages," said Kaname. "I thought there weren't many of them."

"You're partially right. Paladins in particular had a slight disliking to them but a few in both the vampire factions as well as their own thought that there were some use to these crystals and tried to have mages use them. However, the result was opposite of what was expected. Instead of using them or destroying them, they imprisoned those that would use them by sealing them in. As a result, those imprisoned eventually became something much worse than any of us realized…and it would also be a terrible mistake on their part and despite the paladins attempts to fully seal them away…the mages realized it was only temporary. Verossa knew her father had one in his possession and tried to have it destroyed, but was found out from one of her closest friends and was about to be killed…until I stepped in. Several wars broke out after. We abandoned our positions, branded as traitors, and headed for the mountains. We eventually became close at this point; however, it was to be short lived. It was there that one night I found one particular mage talking with some dark being. When Verossa saw the individual, her mind suddenly became prisoner to the dark magic that the other possessed. I tried to stop her, but she encouraged me to live on and try to tell others what I had encountered," said Armandis.

"So both these Crimson and Shadow Fangs are of demonic origin and yet only mages can either seal something in or destroy them. What doesn't make sense is why they would seal someone inside a crystal that has demonic properties," said Kaname.

"The reason for what they did before was that they felt no individual should mess with items they don't understand. Yet once they realized what they did, they scattered. There was one I came across some years later that had developed a method of creating some strange item that would imbue upon the user magic abilities," said Armandis.

"Devices," guessed Kaname, to which he received a nod.

"There was something interesting that I was told about these things…one in particular. That some of these devices acted like it had a mind of its own and would only respond to certain individuals. I eventually decided to write these findings down and felt it important to pass on the knowledge. I went back after the latest war that had exhausted your relatives and was apprehended upon my arrival. However, your great grandfather saw some potential in me as an archivist after I explained what I came across and decided that there should be such individuals that would have access to these bits of information. That time came during one particular war that exhausted all the factions," he explained.

Kaname didn't have to guess long as to what war Armandis was referring to.

"I was told about a prophecy from my mother but that it's only a fragment of it…I had a feeling that you would probably help me…" began Kaname.

"Fill in the blanks," finished Armandis, taking a sip of his tea. "Perhaps it would be easier if you told me the fragment and then perhaps I might be of assistance."

After Kaname recited the fragment, Armandis was a bit surprised at first but then had a slight grin on his face, to which Kaname was confused at such a reaction.

"What is it that you find so amusing?" he asked.

"I had a feeling this would be the case," came the reply. "I presume that you've been told of a few demons yes?"

"Such as Belzangas?"

"Some of these demons are considered "lower demons"…in a sense, more like those of a lower military rank," he said.

"Do you have any clue as to what this Dark One is called?" asked Kaname.

"I'm afraid not…however, we archivists have our connections. There is one in Europe that serves as the second archivist for vampires. I can give you the name if you'd like," said Armandis.

"That would be greatly appreciated," he replied.

"I can tell you this though…it has seven of each," said Armandis, as he began writing down the name of the second archivist as well as the address and then handed the piece of paper to Kaname.

It was as Kaname got the paper that he saw a strange symbol on Armandis' left arm which looked almost like a tattoo. The picture showed a round circle that was divided into fours on the inside. Each section had a different symbol. The top left had a claw mark, the top right bat-like wings, the bottom left had a sword, and the bottom right had a wolf's paw print. In the center of the circle was a tower standing on a closed book.

Just as Kaname thanked Armandis for the information and was about to leave, he heard him clearly enough as he reached the top of the stairs mention of a warning.

"Just so you know…your interaction over at that school, is bound to attract some…unwanted attention when you least expect it. You should watch your back carefully," he said. By the time Kaname went back on his motorcycle, he then received a call which DATS tried to put through…but the signal was either garbled or distorted.

"Hello…hello?" he called out. Kaname could barely hear what was going on but he thought through the noise he heard something being smashed, like glass or pottery, and what almost sounded like several shots being fired.

"…cover…found…need…back…now…-epeat…blown…"

"DATS…can you try and triangulate where that transmission came from?" asked Kaname.

"Based on the strength of the signal, it will take some time to comb through and pinpoint the location," replied the software.

"I don't care what it takes…just do it. Send a copy of the transmission back to Philip if possible," ordered Kaname, as he rode through the early morning, despite it still being dark. He had a hunch that he knew where it was from and something was terribly wrong. Kaname just hoped he didn't arrive too late.

After letting her parents know that things were going OK, Nanoha was just about to go to sleep until she decided to check on what was happening elsewhere and turned on the TV.

"-reports of strange encounters throughout the city. Officials are not sure whether or not these claims are true or just the rants of some mentally ill person, while some are just placing the incident as a supernatural phenomenon."

'Despite what I experienced that one night…the events are all a blur. Ugh…that's the first and last time I head to a place like that,' thought Nanoha. 'What I don't get is why I'm able to see these things where others are not?'

She kept flipping through the channels, until she came across a silly game show with ridiculous antics that made her laugh a bit and lift her spirits up. Nanoha then checked her alarm clock and set the timer and watched the remainder of the show before turning it off and falling asleep.

The only thing that was going through her mind was that one time she spent with Fate…her blonde hair and red eyes…how it almost felt like she was hypnotized by them. Realizing this, Nanoha quickly sat up before blinking a few times.

'I've only just met her and yet I don't know much about her. I hope I'll see her again,' she thought, before going back to sleep.

However…just as she was about to close her eyes…the tree near her room began to shake a bit. Curiosity taking over, Nanoha slowly walked over and saw a hooded figure for a few seconds and looked around to see if anyone could be watching before heading back and going to sleep.

From a distance, Yunno watched as Nanoha fell asleep and saw next to her alarm clock the small red gem he had slipped into her bag next to it and had a content smile on her face, knowing that it would be in good hands.

'She's going to need that at some point…I just hope that my timing of handing it to her and her realizing her potential hasn't gone to waste. Now it's only a matter of when,' thought Yunno.

As Kaname sped through the small traffic back to Tokyo, his mind was racing as he struggled to keep his mental state stable while trying to follow the highlighted pathway DATS had provided on the visor. While the software managed to come up with a route as well as alternates to head back to his place, DATS managed to pinpoint the signal which revealed that Philip sent the distress signal but what puzzled Kaname was who had found out about his hideaway and more importantly, was the necessary precautions taken in the event someone managed to infiltrate and tap into their network.

Taking a hard left at the next intersection, he reached the nearby trash bin and input the sequence from the brick wall opening the garage and quickly dismounted, weapons at the ready and rushed inside. Despite being a hybrid, Kaname's eyes immediately adjusted to the darkness. He noticed the living quarters in complete disarray, several bullets had hit the monitors, the keyboard looked smashed, one of the chairs had slash marks from something sharp, either a knife or a sword, and there was a small trail of blood. Using his other senses, he was faintly able to hear the still-barely beating rhythm of someone's heart…clearly someone was wounded or was struggling to stay alive. Just as he was about to look for the source, a gloved hand was placed on his shoulder. Kaname whipped around and saw Reo and breathed a sigh of relief. Philip managed to find the emergency backup and turned on the lights. What Kaname saw was a lot worse than when he saw the details with just his eyes with the lights on. The rugs were torn to shreds, most of the chairs had huge tears, and there were a lot of cracks on the walls, the monitors were nearly trashed.

"What in blazes happened in here?" asked Kaname.

"Patrick…is what happened," said a labored voice.

Kaname looked as his friends parted and he saw a battered and wounded Jason propped up against some pillows.

"What is he talking about?" he asked.

"That traitor came in and literally trashed the place. Jason tried to stop him but it got pretty bad fast. He and his minions were too much for us," said Reo.

"There's more," said Subaru.

"What else?" asked Kaname.

"It has to do with your mother," said Chrono. "She was taken by Patrick."

At that moment, Kaname felt as if the wind was knocked out of him and leaned on the stone wall for support.

"What did that bastard want?" he asked, through clenched teeth.

"He was…trying to draw you out," said Jason.

"It could be a trap," said Philip.

"I don't have much of a choice, Philip," said Kaname. "Did he try to ask you anything else?"

"I didn't…tell him a damn thing," said Jason, his breathing getting more labored.

"His ways appear to be erratic. We need to try and figure out where he would strike next," said Chrono.

After Kaname had managed to regain his composure, he then looked at his wounded companion and then at his friends.

"There's one …other thing," said Jason, his breathing getting labored, until he went into a small coughing fit and was gasping for air.

"Try not to talk," said Capt. Lindy.

Kaname knelt by his side as Jason took out of his pocket what appeared to be a small black crystal fragment.

"Isn't that what he was wearing around his neck?" asked Kaname, to which Jason nodded.

"Whatever it was that was giving him those abilities…I think can be found from looking into these," said Jason. "Find out what he's planning…before…before…"

Just as Jason was about to continue, he succumbed to his injuries before finishing. Kaname felt anger rise through him but he fought the urge to vent realizing that a good friend has passed and that thoughts of vengeance wouldn't do any good.

"He did what he could…and fought hard. He deserves a proper burial," said Philip.

"That bastard Patrick won't get away with it," growled Reo, clenching his fist.

"I'll get to work with the arrangements," said Chrono.

"Speaking of which…did you manage to find what you're looking for Kaname?" asked Capt. Lindy.

"That all depends on you guys," he replied.

"Kaname…I need to talk to you for a bit," said a familiar voice.

The group turned and saw Yuuno standing at the top of the stairs that led to the house above it.

"How convenient…because I have some stuff that needs answers," said Kaname.

"Go…we'll take care of this," urged Philip.

As Kaname and Yuuno headed outside and up to the rooftop looking at the street below, Kaname held his suspicious glance at the archivist which caused Yuuno to be a bit uneasy.

"So far she hasn't suspected much…at the moment," said Yunno.

"You're referring to Nanoha, aren't you?" guessed Kaname, to which he nodded.

"How'd your research come along?" he asked.

"Before I get to that…there's something I need to know," replied Kaname. "Who are you really? More to the point…what the hell is really going on here?"

Yunno was silent for a brief moment before sighing and sat at the edge of the roof.

"I suppose you have the right to know. I did some digging regarding your family history…and…I'm more than just an archivist," said Yunno.

"You did…what?" growled Kaname, trying to control his anger that was starting to rise in him.

"I'm also a magus," he replied.

This sudden revelation caught Kaname completely off guard and he just stared at him. However…that anger was still around and hasn't left him yet.

"What other secrets are you keeping from me?" he demanded.

"It's not just me that's keeping secrets Kaname. Your mother is doing the exact same thing," said Yunno.

"What are you talking about?" asked Kaname. "She told me what happened."

"There were some bits that were actually false," he answered.

"Like what?" asked Kaname.

"Your father," replied Yunno.

"She said he was a hunter that worked for the paladins," said Kaname. When Yunno didn't reply, this raised Kaname's suspicions even further.

"He wasn't a hunter…and he only worked for the paladins for a short time," said Yunno. "There are a number of things that are forbidden among vampires. Your mother…committed one of the most atrocious acts that scarred her for life."

"Which is what?" asked Kaname.

"She betrayed her kind…not for a normal human…but a magus," said Yunno.

Kaname instantly froze at the news and felt his anger rise even faster.

"No…you're lying! That's not possible," he growled.

"How else do you explain the fast reflexes and being able to see things that most are not able to?" asked Yunno.

"What are you talking about?" asked Kaname.

"Paladins can see certain things…but a magus' power can distort that vision. For example…when a magus is using offensive magic…what they would see is a blast of light. If it was defensive…like a barrier, all they would see is an invisible barrier. Even with modern weapons, it would just bounce off of them. On top of that…they can almost move just as fast compared to a normal paladin. In the case of the captain that betrayed you, demonic powers work in a similar way…except they can't see whatever is with them," explained Yunno.

"Like a haze. They can't see them very well," said Kaname.

"Exactly; even with the lights on…they would only see the person casting it but not what is being cast," said Yunno.

Kaname thought about what Yunno said for a moment and then recalled the time when he saw a projection for a brief moment before it disappeared. As if sensing what he was thinking, Yunno added, "The same goes for those that are able to use magic. Very few vampires are capable of such feats…most of the ones here have the abilities that most vampires are born with, but very few can do magic."

"So how does that explain what that has to do with me?" asked Kaname.

"The rest…you'll have to ask your mother," said Yunno.

"How can I do that when she was kidnapped?" snapped Kaname.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," said a voice, with a slight girlish giggle.

Kaname heard the flapping of wings and saw a gray bat with red eyes flying towards them.

"She followed me as I was heading back after checking Nanoha," explained Yunno.

"And who is she exactly?" asked Kaname.

"I'm a companion of your mother after she was exiled," she replied. "My name's Xelia. I saw her being carried off towards the harbor."

"How do you know this?" asked Kaname.

"As we were heading back, I spotted someone wearing black armor followed by two shadows carrying an unconscious woman at a pretty fast pace," replied the bat.

At this point Kaname managed to regain his composure and then contemplated as to what the archivist Armandis told him and wondered if Yuuno knew him.

"Are you familiar with an archivist by the name of Armandis?" he asked.

Yuuno's head snapped up for a brief moment and then asked, "How do you know of him?"

"A vampire by the name of Vercossa told me," answered Kaname.

"I've never heard of her," said Yuuno.

"Have you heard of creatures known as Devourers?" asked Kaname.

"A bit…though there's something about them I can't place," he replied.

"Such as what?"

"There's a hint of demonic energy within them but other than that…they can be killed," said Yuuno. "They appear to be creatures that were supposed to be something else but it didn't turn out that way. Like an experiment gone wrong."

Kaname thought about the last bit of information that Armandis told him about a school and then his eyes widened in worry and fear.

"Oh no…so that's what he meant," said Kaname. "Yuuno…what if those things are able to detect those with magic abilities?"

"For some reason…I think that's what those demonic energies allow it to do. Why?" he inquired.

"Jason managed to get a hold of that fragment around Patrick's neck. Can you possibly look up any properties that it might have?" asked Kaname.

"I suppose I could," said Yuuno. "Where are you going with this?"

Kaname then backtracked and told Yuuno the details that Armandis told him when they met; about his meeting with Vercossa, and how he came across the magus that made a pact with a demon. Yuuno looked away for a brief moment and Kaname took it as a sign that he was hiding something from him.

"You know something don't you?" inquired Kaname.

"I was the one that help start that society of archivists. They're quite secluded and usually difficult to reach. Myself…I tend to move around quite a bit…trying to not leave a pattern as I go. Each one has a distinct token that identifies them," explained Yuuno.

"I'm guessing that you don't have one," said Kaname, to which Yuuno nodded.

"I was told that the other fragments of a prophecy my mother uncovered could be with them."

"That's a likely possibility," said Yuuno. "However…until we know what we're dealing with here…we're pretty much left in the dark."

After Kaname vented out his frustrations, the three of them went back downstairs to the now ruined underground base. When Subaru saw the little bat that was following them, she pointed and asked, "Who's the pet belong to?"

"She was with my mother before…as for how she found Yuuno…I'm not sure," replied Kaname.

"How'd the family take the news Chrono?"

"You might be surprised to hear this but…his family was killed in a surprise raid several years before you joined the force," he replied.

"No other living relatives whatsoever?" asked Kaname.

"None that I was able to find," replied Chrono.

"You seem slightly distant today partner. Anything you want to tell us?" asked Philip.

Kaname looked around at his comrades and heaved a deep sigh before saying, "I was told of a possible attack at the school where Nanoha is at."

"What? How?" asked Yuuno.

"I'm not sure how Armandis knew…but my best bet is that he possibly has a connection that works inside the school and is undercover," he replied. "Notifying her would cause problems there can be no doubt of that."

"So what do you suggest?" asked Reo.

"I could try and keep an eye on her, being her classmate and all," said Yuuno.

"Yuuno and I should try and constantly keep in touch. There's a slight possibility that a barrier around the school grounds might not be enough. Whatever gets through could cause some serious problems and confusion. I don't think a mind wipe will even be enough at this point," explained Kaname.

"If any of them were to faint…it could necessitate a mind wipe," answered Yuuno.

"We could try and monitor you both from a distance. I spotted a nearby café during one of my runs before the attack that's not too far from the school grounds," said Capt. Lindy.

"That could work," said Yuuno.

Kaname at this point turned away from the others as his thoughts turned to his mother and began to ponder on what just occurred and what was said. He then turned back and asked Chrono, "What happened to most of the equipment?"

"The monitors are down, but luckily I managed to salvage the data onto this," answered Chrono, taking out a strange looking disc. "I had a feeling that as you were gone, there was a possibility of something happening to the data, so I had Philip transfer the data to this before the attack. We should be covered for now at least. The backup power still works…luckily. The computer is trashed though."

"What of the weapons?"

"We can try and move them tomorrow," said Reo.

"Medical equipment?"

"They're fine, for the most part" said Subaru.

"Emergency supplies?"

"We salvaged what we could," said Philip. "I tried to also save our personal belongings as well."

"Good. Is there a possibility that you guys have a functional base?" asked Kaname, turning to Chrono and Capt. Lindy.

"Luckily…we do. We can gather all the stuff here and then move them out in a couple of days," he answered.

"Alright. We should all get some sleep for now. We're going to need it for the next few days," said Kaname. "I'll bring down some futons, pillows, and blankets."

As he headed up, Yuuno decided to sit near the stairs and had an apprehensive look on his face, which didn't go unnoticed by Capt. Lindy, so she decided to sit next to him and try to coax out whatever was on his mind.

"I have a feeling this involves more than Kaname's familial background. There are some things that even I can't figure out," said Yuuno.

"All the more reason why it's better to try and lean on others for support when times get difficult," she replied.

The only part that Yuuno left out was that it might also have to do with what caused this strange string of events to occur…possibly with what was found with Kaname's team.

By the time Kaname came back down, Reo and Philip had already finished prepping Jason's body. Capt. Lindy decided to lend a hand and gave one out to everyone. However, Chrono had a stumped expression on his face after looking through the main database on a device that resembled that of a mini-laptop.

"Any next of kin?" asked Kaname.

"After looking through Commander Jason's background and files…it turns out he doesn't have," said Chrono.

"Why's that?" asked Reo.

"His family members were killed in an accident prior to him being transferred to this branch," replied Chrono.

"Any details on the accident?" asked Capt. Lindy.

"There have been a few reports but they were all a few years ago…roughly 5 years ago," said Amy, who was also at Chrono's side analyzing the given data.

"Odd…that was before I joined the Phoenix Fire Branch," said Kaname. He sat on the stairs for a while lost in thought, trying to piece together what could have caused such events to occur.

"The report that some of the investigators have gone by was a boating accident on some cruise liner," said Amy.

"Or…that's what someone wants us to believe," said Kaname.

Chrono stopped briefly for a moment as the others looked at Kaname from the statement he made.

"Are you implying that someone has had this planned out from the start?" asked Reo.

"It's possible. However, I won't know for sure until I get the information I need," he replied.

"How exactly do you plan on doing that?" asked Philip.

"I'll let you know when I do," answered Kaname, as he set up his futon near the armory.

"Do you really think that's such a good idea to sleep near there? Ever since the break-in, I don't think that's such a comfortable spot to sleep at," said Subaru.

"He prefers to actually sleep with a gun under his pillow," answered Philip.

"What? Occupational hazard?" inquired Reo.

"I guess you could put it that way," he replied.

As everyone began to settle in for the night, Xelia decided to stay close to Kaname considering that she was a friend of his mother…and, like any bat slept hanging upside down, perched on the railings, except she slept facing him.

Meanwhile, back at the lair where Precia and her cohorts resided…as Vercossa came back after talking with Kaname, she noticed Fate leaning against the entrance to her living quarters, as if she was waiting for her.

"You were talking with him…weren't you?" asked Fate.

"And what if I were?" she asked.

"I sent Arf out to report on anything out of the ordinary," replied Fate.

"He needed some information," said her mentor.

"Information on what?" she asked.

"A certain archivist."

"What do you think he could be looking for?" asked Fate.

"I'm not sure," replied Vercossa.

As Fate was walking past her, Vercossa couldn't help but ask, "Where are you off to?"

"It's feeling a bit drafty in here. I'm heading out to go clear my head a bit," replied Fate. "Don't tell Arf."

"Just watch yourself…you hear?"

"I will," said Fate, as she went off into the night sky.

However…what had just been revealed didn't go unnoticed by Precia as she slinked back into the shadows and into a room filled with various glass casings on shelves, and in the middle of the room a long tube with a young blonde girl inside…and right above her…a huge long black crystal. A magic circle formed beneath Precia, and she felt a portion of her life energy get sapped from her as the crystal thrummed with energy. In front of her stood three hooded figures donned with purple armor and had red eyes beneath their thick black hoods.

"Follow her…and then report back to me," she ordered.

After they disappeared, Precia looked once more longingly at her daughter before saying, "It won't be long Alicia…very soon…I'll have you back."

As Kaname struggled to sleep, his mother's companion, Xelia was able to hear the slight shifting around and had one eye open while the other one was closed. There were a lot of things flashing around in his mind that it almost became a blur. Something was heading to the school. He could hear the glass shattering, students screaming, and then he spotted something that caught him completely off guard. A pink aura of light within the gymnasium, Nanoha's classmates were out cold, yet when the light dissipated he wasn't able to make out the figure standing in front of him as his vision was clouded by darkness…and then they rushed towards the figure holding a staff that had a red orb.

Kaname then awoke with a start, his eyes widened and his breathing quick. Looking around, he then noticed the others still asleep until his eyes came to rest on Xelia, who was hanging upside down, and had one eye open. What happened next caught Kaname completely off guard. He could hear her voice inside his head.

'_Can't sleep_?' she inquired.

'_You could tell_?' he asked.

'_From the way you kept shifting around in your sleeping bag…yeah,_' she replied.

Kaname then took out his jacket that was lying next to him and then slowly went down and outside before climbing up to the roof. Once they were out of ears length, Xelia spoke.

"You had a vision," she guessed.

When Kaname didn't speak, it confirmed her suspicions. "You have nearly the same ability as your mother."

"What do you know of her?" inquired Kaname. He asked this because since she was her companion…he guessed for quite a while, she probably knew quite a bit…more than what his mother was willing to reveal.

"You mean besides being beautiful and royal?" inquired Xelia. "She…was once a bit…naïve, unlike your aunt. However…I'm…presuming she's told you of her…streak?"

"If you mean her naughty streak…then yes…I've heard," he replied.

"Then I guess you shouldn't be surprised if I told you this but…your so-called family tree…has a bit of twisted history behind it. Even more to the point…there's one tiny tidbit that your mother hasn't told you yet…but I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," replied Xelia.

"How bad is it?" asked Kaname.

"You'll have to find out on your own," she replied. "Although…I won't lie to you…she does care about you. After the recent attacks over in Europe…"

"What attacks?" asked Kaname, now a bit interested.

'Oops…I shouldn't have said that,' she thought.

Xelia sighed and looked at Kaname who was eyeing her with a stern look. "I guess the cat's out of the bag. There have been rogue paladins that have gotten into conflicts with the other factions and the same goes with vampires going on bloodlust sprees."

"What could possibly have gotten them to go out of control?" asked Kaname.

"I'm not sure. You see…before your mother was found by Chrono and his team, I was on my own little reconnaissance mission," explained Xelia.

Kaname thought about what she just mentioned before a smirk came on his face and he was able to find out something about his mother's companion that should have been obvious to him from the get-go.

'Uh-oh…he knows something,' thought Xelia, looking a bit worried.

"You're a Familiar…aren't you?" he guessed.

At that moment, Xelia turned various shades of red and almost froze and fell towards the roof.

"H-how…how in bl-b-blazes did you…" she stuttered.

"Believe it or not…you're not the first I've come across," said Kaname, trying to hold back a laugh. "It's alright…you can show me."

Xelia was a bit hesitant at first but then took a deep breath and closed her eyes before a purple orb of light engulfed her, causing Kaname to shield his eyes. When the light cleared, a young woman with long gray hair, red eyes, wearing a black dress with no shoulder support that had red lines running along the edges that had red roses that were 4-5 inches apart near the edge of the dress; the wings served as an illusion of a ribbon tied at the back of the dress completing it.

Kaname couldn't help but give a slight whistle in surprise and had an eyebrow arched up.

"I presume that's your normal appearance in that form?" he inquired.

"To not make myself obvious…yes," she replied.

As Kaname visually took in her stunning figure, there was a certain thought that lingered in his mind after hearing about his father's background.

"Xelia…there's something I must know. It has to do with my father," said Kaname.

"What is it?" she asked.

"How exactly do you know that my father was truly a mage and not what my mother told me before?" asked Kaname.

Xelia blushed slightly and looked down at the street below for a brief moment before looking back at Kaname.

"Because…I saw them…lying together…and saw his staff near the door. I was in my bat form and they hadn't noticed me. However…your uncle…on your mother's side…did notice them," she explained.

Kaname couldn't help but arch an eyebrow almost in disbelief.

"I didn't know you were into voyeurism, Xelia," said Kaname, trying to hide a smirk on his face…to no avail.

"I-I'm not…I wasn't…" she stuttered, feeling her face heat up quickly.

Kaname stared at her…this time, not hiding his smile.

"O-OK…I heard them and wanted to see what the noise was about. There…I said it," she spat out quickly. "I was only trying to keep an eye out for her. I wouldn't betray her…after all…she was the one who took care of me."

At that instant…Kaname's smile faded and he saw in front of him someone that looked hurt and concerned for a dear friend. However…reality gave him a quick slap on the face as he realized that he felt something was missing. If what Xelia said was true…it wouldn't hurt for him to try out his ability. Kaname walked up close to her and placed his right hand on her forehead and took her right hand and placed it on his.

What happened next astonished him. Everything occurred so quickly that Kaname thought if he blinked…he would miss some important detail. He could see from her point of view several feet into the sky a hooded figure running at a blurring speed towards the ruins of an old building near the mountains. However…what really surprised Kaname was that he was able to trace the route in his mind. As soon as the mental link was broken, both of them were gasping for breath. Xelia was the first to break the silence.

"You do have something quite similar to her ability," she said.

"Apparently…that seems to be the case…and a bit draining I might add," he replied.

"If they're just manifesting…you're going to need a lot more training in order to master it," she said.

At that moment, Kaname then decided to head back inside and catch up on some sleep while Xelia followed behind. However…what he didn't expect was his partner to be leaning near the entrance to the ruined ground base as he came back.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked.

"How could you tell?" inquired Kaname.

"I heard the flapping of wings and then footsteps heading up. I figured it was you," replied Philip. "Who's the beauty behind you?"

"She's a Familiar," said Kaname.

"Really? I didn't know they had any during those times," said Philip.

"You'd be surprised as to how they can easily be mistaken for their beastmen counterparts," he answered.

"What happened?" asked Philip.

"You probably wouldn't believe me even if I told you," said Kaname.

"After what your mother did…I'm pretty sure I can take a bit more bizarre stuff than the other guys," said Philip.

Kaname shook his head and then sighed before walking up to his partner.

"Alright…but don't say I didn't warn you," he replied.

Repeating the same gesture he did with Xelia, Philip braced himself for the sudden rush of information. As Kaname narrated what he saw to his partner, Xelia watched from a distance surprised as to how quick he was able to handle his ability.

'This guy's quite impressive. I never thought he'd be able to tap into it so quickly and master it,' she thought, with a satisfied smirk.

"What…the heck…was that?" he asked, panting.

"Selendia's ability is called Memory Gaze, which is what you and the others experienced before. Kaname has something slightly similar called a Memory Shift , in which he gets a certain brief memory and replays every detail within that memory," explained Xelia. "As you have just witnessed…the experience can be a bit…tiring."

"No kidding," said Philip, leaning against the entrance to the ground base.

"I gave you fair warning, did I not?" asked Kaname.

"Yeah…now the question remains…are you going to go after her?" asked his partner.

"I'm still not sure about Patrick's intentions but something tells me that there could be something bigger afoot that neither of us have noticed," answered Kaname. "However…I'm more concerned about the school."

"You mean the school that Nanoha and her friends attend?" asked a familiar voice.

The trio turned and saw Yuuno coming up the steps.

"I could try and send an advanced notice by telepathy," suggested Yuuno.

"No…doing that can tip our hand to whoever our real enemy is," said Kaname.

"So what do you suggest?" asked Philip.

"We set up a barrier around the school, and then notify whoever would be in charge," said Kaname.

"Wouldn't that be tipping our hand anyway by setting up a barrier?" asked Xelia.

"Not if it was done in advance. People can come and go…however, anything that's…not human could possibly trigger the barrier," said Yuuno.

"If anyone saw what was going outside…it could cause problems," said Philip.

"We're going to have to be discreet. One of the faculty members there happens to have a relative that works in the Commune of Archivists," replied Yuuno.

"What is that exactly?" asked Kaname.

"You already saw the symbol from one of the members. The Commune of Archivists consist of twin towers; two for each of the four factions. One resides the archivist while the other resides the historian and researcher," explained Yuuno. "The one known as Armandis is the archivist in these parts. The other…lies farther north."

"So…you're saying that it takes 3 people to collect and record events as well as guard artifacts?" asked Philip.

"That would be the task yes," he replied.

"And you helped organize it?" asked Xelia.

"I did," said Yuuno. "Why?"

"It's just…we sort of find a bit difficult to believe that one person was able to form such an important work force," answered Philip.

"So…what's the plan?" asked Xelia.

"We place you undercover as a student over at the same school that girl goes to," said Yuuno.

"For what reason?" asked Kaname.

"Besides surveillance…I also happens to attend that school as well...as a fellow classmate," said Yuuno, handing Kaname a folder containing the details regarding the school as well as the classmate he was to keep an eye out for.

Kaname's eyes widened when he saw the young brunette and his hands shook slightly.

"Th-that's…that's impossible," he stuttered.

"What's wrong?" asked Philip.

Kaname looked a bit hesitant, before turning to Xelia.

"I suppose I should fill you guys in a bit on the details," she said. "As Kaname tried to sleep, I noticed something that appeared to be…stirring in his mind."

"Like what? A nightmare?" asked Philip.

"A vision," replied Xelia.

"It seemed hazy at first…but it was clear to me that what Armandis told me might come to pass," added Kaname.

"What would come to pass?" asked Yuuno.

"That…there would be an attack on that school," he replied.

"If that's true…we'll need to be on our guard," said Xelia.

"How long would the barrier last?" asked Philip.

"That depends. Unless I notify the principle and have Kaname explain the situation without causing a mass panic…it could be slightly taxing," answered Yuuno.

"I don't want you to be overexerting yourself to cause that girl some worry," said Kaname.

"Is there any other alternative?" asked Philip.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance?" said a familiar voice.

The four of them turned to the source and found a familiar blonde standing near the entrance to the house, with a device in her hand.

"You! What are you doing here?" asked Kaname.

"Who is this girl?" asked Philip.

"My name's Fate…Fate Testarossa," she replied. "I couldn't help but overhear what you guys were talking about. Also…on top of that…I come with information as well."

"What kind of information?" asked Yuuno.

"This concerns him only," said Fate, looking at Kaname.

"Why me?" he asked.

"It involves a prophecy," said Fate.

"My mother already told me a fragment of it," said Kaname.

"That was to throw you and your comrades…including your mother…off track," said Fate.

"What do you mean?" asked Xelia.

"Oh…a bat Familiar…that's an interesting one," said Fate.

"Not that I'm flattered but…how did you get this information?" asked Xelia.

"I have my methods," said Fate.

"I'm hoping you didn't kill anyone for it," said Kaname.

"Only if I had to in defense," said Fate. "So what was the fragment that your mother told you?"

"Before I answer that…let me ask you this…where did you get the information?" asked Kaname.

"From someone you might have crossed paths with," said Fate. "An archivist…named Armandis."

After Kaname retold the fragment and Fate silently analyzed it, her device then went back into a smaller form, in the palm of her hand.

"Whoever gave it did it deliberately," she said.

"How can you tell?" asked Yuuno.

"Because…he gave me this," said Fate, handing Yuuno an old worn out piece of paper.

As Yuuno unfolded the piece of paper, Xelia stood next to him and immediately recognized the writing. It consisted of curved shapes that had a mix of dashes and dots, with some dots inside of them.

"I know this language," said Xelia.

"What is it?" asked Philip.

"It's the language of Nargonath, an old language of the vampires. There's a small amount that speak it. Not that many left that know it," she explained.

"Can you translate it?" asked Yuuno.

"It's best for me not to speak it while the others are still asleep," she replied.

As the group sat down near the fireplace as Kaname lit it up, Xelia looked on a bit longer at the piece of paper she held in her hand and immediately became troubled.

"What is it?" asked Fate.

"I remember hearing about something in this a long time ago," said Xelia.

"What does it say in the common tongue?" asked Kaname.

Xelia turned and faced the group, but kept her eyes fixed on Kaname as she recited the first segment of the prophecy.

_Blind ambition will lead one astray_

_The bond of four through conflict will fray_

_Three pillars house his dark presence_

_Each piece resides his influence_

"Sounds like a riddle," said Fate.

"I appreciate you giving the information, however, I must ask…why are you really here?" asked Kaname.

"The girl that I saved over at the bar before the attack…her name is Takamachi Nanoha," she answered.

"She also happens to go to the school that Yuuno and Kaname are being sent to…particularly for undercover reasons," explained Philip.

"If you want in on this, we're going to…" began Kaname but suddenly stopped and looked away briefly as if something was different, and felt slightly disoriented.

"What is it?" asked Xelia.

Kaname's head snapped up for a split second before looking at Fate.

"Your cover's blown," he said. As soon as he whirled around, he could briefly make out three hooded figures that immediately ran after they were spotted. By the time he ran outside, they were gone.

"Who do you think sent them?" asked Philip.

"I'm not sure…but somehow…I've got the strangest feeling this have gotten a bit more…complicated," answered Kaname.


	9. Chapter 8

Hi guys...I know it's been a while since I've written and I'm sorry if the process is slow. The next couple of chapters will have more NanoFate interaction I promise you. I'm currently prepping up for classes in the Fall semester and also trying to get a temporary job as well so...it's been hectic at the moment. So please bear with me if you guys think I'm going too slow or think that I won't get to the good stuff but I will. I'm getting there...to the best of my abilities.

**Ch. 8: Revisiting Memories & Unexpected Surprises**

By the time Kaname came back inside, Fate then stood up and told them, "I'm afraid I can't stay long. I should probably be heading back now."

"I understand," said Kaname. "However…in case you seek refuge…"

"I appreciate the offer and will consider it," she replied, as she headed back out into the night.

After she left, Philip was leaning near the fireplace in a brooding manner which was even clearer from the look of apprehension on his face.

"Do you really think we can trust her?" he asked.

"Are you already that skeptical?" asked Kaname.

"I'm just saying that…" began Philip, but got cut off by his partner.

"I know what you're trying to say partner…however, just from the way she was acting now when she was here is clear enough for me to know that she poses no threat," said Kaname.

"Do you think that someone in her little group considers her a traitor?" asked Yunno.

"If that were the case, she probably would have put up a heck of a fight to evade her pursuers and be nearly tired and have someone carry her," answered Philip.

"Still…if there was going to be an attack on the school, we best rest up and prepare just in case," said Yunno.

"I agree…but how do we explain my absence?" inquired Kaname.

"I've written down what you've missed while away," said Yunno.

"I could explain that you had caught a slight case of stomach flu and went to have it treated," said Philip.

"Capt. Lindy already made the arrangements."

"Just as I would expect from you, partner," he answered.

"Although…I should give you a small piece of advice," said Philip.

"What would that be?" asked Kaname.

"Try and act normal so as not to give away our hand," he replied.

"Easier said than done."

"We should get some sleep," said Yunno. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

"More like heading into uncharted territory," said Kaname.

"See you guys in the morning then," said Philip, heading back downstairs.

"You go on ahead Yunno…I'll be down in a bit," said Kaname, looking up at the night sky as the clouds slowly began moving revealing a half moon. Xelia sat next to Kaname looking up as well and her thoughts then drifted to her master and hoped that somehow she was alright.

"Do you think my mother would be OK?" he asked.

"I'm not sure…she's strong and capable…but…as I've witnessed over the years…it can only go so far until eventually…you break," she replied.

"If he does ANYTHING to harm her…" growled Kaname.

"Don't worry Kaname…we'll get her back," said Xelia.

Everything that happened during the past several hours all became a blur for Selendia. The last few bits she remembered was the break in, and then trying to fend off the intruder before being taken from behind and then…blacking out. It was until she slowly began coming to that she could faintly hear the drips of water hitting a smaller puddle of water that she realized she had been captured…but wasn't sure as to the reason behind it.

As she slowly sat up and tried to gather her wits about her, Selendia eventually saw another crouched figure huddled in a corner and began to slowly approach. Upon further inspection, she noticed the individual had wound marks and bruises on her hands and arms and that the person was female. Her clothes were tattered and was wearing attire that was for archaeology. Selendia then noticed that the shorts had tears and a few holes in them which made her mind draw a few conclusions. The person was forced…or had been and tried to fight it off and was either successful or was beaten for another reason…particularly for information.

"Are you alright?" asked Selendia.

The crouched female slowly lifted up her head and the former queen of the Crimson Blade was shocked and slightly horrified as to how badly messed up the face was. There were bruises and a few cuts all over on various parts of the face; the hair was all tattered. She almost looked deprived of sleep. The only conclusion Selendia could draw was some form of torture.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"A former member of a royal vampire family," she replied. "What happened to you?"

"He…he killed my friends…and then he…tried to…"

"Did he force you?" asked Selendia, to which she noticed a shake of the head.

"He tried to coerce the information out of me," she replied.

"So he tortured you," guessed Selendia, to which she got an acknowledge nod. "When that didn't work?"

"He…tried to rape me," came the reply.

"Do you need medical attention?" asked Selendia.

"I can manage for a bit…but…" she stopped short.

"Did he try to impregnate you?" she asked, to which she got a shake of the head.

'So it was through humiliation,' thought the former queen.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Minako Suzuki," she replied. "I was a friend of Dr. Ross. He and his partner were…"

"I'm sorry to hear that. It's not easy when you lose your friends," replied Selendia.

"They were…trying to send something important to a specific person," explained Minako. "However…before we could even get to the designated drop point…we were ambushed by a hooded figure that was accompanied by armored demonic creatures."

"Those were the exact same things that attack the place where my son lives," she said.

"You mean Kaname?" asked Minako.

"You know my son?" asked Selendia.

"We only met briefly. An old friend that trusted his father wanted me to give him something that belonged to him," answered Minako.

"And what was it?" she asked.

"A violin," she replied.

As soon as Selendia heard this…she was slightly surprised but then smiled. "He was…quite a talented musician…and a wonderful magus."

"You loved him…didn't you?" inquired Minako.

"Yes…very much. However…I'm still ashamed of having to lie to my son about it," said Selendia, looking away briefly.

"I'm sure he'll forgive you somehow," she replied.

"What was this person trying to ask you?" asked Selendia.

"A fragment of a certain prophecy…and the whereabouts of three artifacts," replied Minako.

As the morning sun had yet to come up, Kaname woke up early like he did the first time when he prepared to head to Silver Shield. The only difference this time was that he took a quick cold shower and then used the remaining time to take care of the homework he missed while having breakfast early. He then checked the fridge to see what was available before getting the required items needed and began to work in the kitchen. As Kaname prepped breakfast while making coffee and hot water for tea, Yunno was the first to wake up and noticed him being busy in the kitchen cutting up some fruits and vegetables.

"I didn't realize you'd get up this early," said Yunno. "Either you had some trouble sleeping or something's bothering you."

"It's a bit of both really," said Kaname, cutting up some vegetables.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

"I keep getting the feeling that something's missing; like someone else is behind the events that have occurred. However…the things that have been eating at me were…how was I found and adopted? Who sent the anonymous tip about the artifact that was found by Patrick, Jason, and my team? And more importantly…does it have to do with this prophecy?" wondered Kaname.

"What makes you think you were adopted?" asked Yunno.

"I've only known about my mother for a short time…and second…she probably has a reason for not telling me," he replied.

"She was probably worried about your safety," he answered.

"Do you think the events that have happened is culminating into one big trap?" asked Yunno.

"If that was true…someone must have taking a lot of time to set it up," said a voice.

Kaname turned and saw his partner coming down the stairs.

"I've looked through the various books that Yunno has…and…you're not going to like what I've found," he said.

"I had a feeling this would come up so…I might as well hear it out," said Kaname.

"There's a page missing…from one of the history books. It regards the prophecy…the one that was mentioned by Fate," said Philip.

"Someone doesn't want us to know something," said Yunno.

"The questions are…who…and why?" wondered Kaname, as he finished cooking the vegetables and began putting in the battered eggs.

"It's most likely something important," said Philip.

By the time he finished making breakfast, Kaname decided to just have a small helping of what he made and a small cup of coffee. Judging from how fast he finished, it was clear to Philip that something was on his mind and that Kaname didn't seem to want to talk about it.

"Was there anything else the archivist told you?" asked Philip.

"Nothing much…but I think it might have to do with that girl," said Kaname.

"You think Nanoha has a role in this?" asked Yunno.

"Where were you that one night when you found my mother's Familiar?" asked Kaname.

"I went to drop something off," said Yunno.

"What was it?" asked Kaname.

"Promise you won't be mad?" he asked.

"We'll see," he replied.

"I dropped off a device," replied Yunno.

"You think she has potential?" asked Philip.

"That one night I found Xelia…I felt a faint signature emanating from her," explained Yunno.

"What do you mean?" asked Kaname.

"She appears to have magic potential…but only time will tell if she's ready," said Yunno.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Kaname.

"You have bigger things to worry about. For all I know…she could possibly tip the scale of the situation in our favor," said Yunno.

"You make it sound as if she's just a pawn," said Philip.

"Right now…all we know is that the school is a target. If what Yunno says is true…and if what that archivist told me comes to pass…the situation would look extremely grim if word of this gets out," said Kaname.

"That would mean you as well as Xelia and Subaru would be considered targets," said Yunno.

Kaname heaved a frustrated sigh as he walked back and forth in front of the serving table his mind deep in thought.

"What is it?" asked Philip.

"It occurred to me that lycans also have human form…it would be slightly difficult to differentiate...unless," he said, but stopped short of what he was going to say.

"Their tell would be their eyes," said Phililp.

"It won't just be that…if a growl emanated from one of them…a feral growl…that would be another," said Yunno.

"Looks like things just got a bit more complicated," said a voice.

The three of them turned to see Reo coming down the stairs with Chrono and Capt. Lindy not far behind him.

"Seems you've almost gotten all the possible details down," said Capt. Lindy.

"We've only got one shot at tackling this…we might as well make the best of what we've got and prepare for the worst," said Kaname.

"You should contact us just in case this really does go south," said Chrono.

"Will do," said Kaname, just as he was finishing up and getting his violin case. However…upon picking it up, his ears faintly caught a soft, but dampened sound of something rolling around within the confines of the case. As he set it down, and opened the case, Kaname scanned the full interior and tilted his head as if he was unsure if he heard what he heard correctly.

"What's up?" asked Reo.

"Just as I picked up the case, I heard something sliding or rolling inside the case," said Kaname.

"Perhaps there's some sort of small hidden compartment somewhere in there," said Yunno.

As Kaname looked thoroughly through the case…his eyes then fell upon what appeared to be a small gold handle sticking out at the violin handle end of the case. Slowly moving the handle, Kaname carefully opened the small compartment, inserted his first four fingers of his right hand inside and tilted the case until they felt a worn piece of paper touch his fingers as well as something that felt flat within it.

"Something's in here alright," said Kaname, as he carefully fished out what was inside the case. He found a small wrapped package that was tied in a small piece of yarn string. Unwrapping the package, Kaname's eye widened as he found a small round shape with wings with a small linked chain to support it and noticed writing on the inside of the paper. The message was slightly brief but clear.

_To my dear son,_

_If you've found my work, then you should know that I've passed a heavy task onto you. I know your mother would only mention about me from the times we've spent together, but if ever you find your true calling in life, know that even though I'm not with you physically…I'll be with you every step of your journey. By now you should know that there will be a time when your path will be revealed to you…and should you choose to follow your calling, my hope is that you will bring redemption to our family and your real heritage. Do not seek vengeance for my fall my son…but for your family's sake…learn to go past hatred for what ill fate you have been given. Use this as a means to protect…and not for personal gain. You have been given a chance to do what I could not. Despite what others think and tell of you…know that the greatest creation I've ever made…was not this device…but you. Stay strong and safe my son._

_Sincerely your grateful father,_

_Setsuna_.

Kaname suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of emotion as he felt his hands shake slightly as his partner came to his side.

"What was it?" asked Reo.

"A device," said Philip. "Made from his father."

"You OK?" asked Chrono.

"You were right Yunno," said Kaname, barely audible.

"I may not have known him…but I will ask you this. Are you sure you're up to the task?" he asked.

As Kaname slowly closed the case, head still down and clutching the device in hand, he heaved a big sigh before facing them and saying, "I have to be."

Once he regained his composure, Kaname then straightened himself up and grabbed his things before telling Capt. Lindy that the green tea was right next to the coffee creamers while Philip then got started on cooking some fish. Yunno then followed behind him as both were heading to the bus stop.

"You decided not to head by your motorcycle?" asked Yunno.

"You might be a bit surprised but…the little computer program my partner helped make for me…I've also programmed it into the motorcycle as well," he answered.

"Wait…so it'll come even when you're not on it?" asked a surprised Yunno.

"Bingo," replied Kaname, as they reached the bus stop that would take them to the bus stop where Silver Shield was located.

Kaname boarded and took a quick look around and noticed three girls sitting in the back. One of them was obviously familiar to him.

"Yunno-kun…over here," called out Nanoha.

As the two walked over to where Nanoha and her friends were, Suzuka noticed the small chain that was around Kaname's neck.

"What happened? You were absent for a couple of days," said Arisa.

"I had a minor case of the stomach flu. Drove me nuts it did," he replied.

"He told his mother about it and she suggested he stay home. I had a friend of his take him to the doctor and had a note prepared for when he goes back," explained Yunno.

The girls slightly cringed from the news as Nanoha turned and asked Kaname, "Are you feeling better?"

"Luckily…I have been. Yunno was kind enough to get me up to speed on what I missed. I managed to finish the homework…despite my condition," answered Kaname.

However, deep down in his gut, Kaname felt a bit bad for having to keep the current situation that they would soon be facing under wraps. Destiny on the other hand…was bringing the conflict sooner than expected.

By the time they arrived on the campus, Yunno and Nanoha went their separate ways even though they had a couple of classes together later on. What caught Kaname by surprise however, as soon as he got in the campus was a strong firm grip on his right arm as he was yanked in a corner and into the storage room by none other than Mizuki. Just as he was about to open his mouth, Mizuki used her right hand to hush it.

"Quiet! Or they'll hear us," she said in a hushed voice.

After she put down her hand Kaname glared at her for a brief moment and asked, "If you don't mind me telling what the hell you were doing in here and had to drag me inside with you?"

However, what really caused him to turn various shades of red was how close both of them were and the enclosed space they were in. Mizuki noticed this and looked a bit further down before looking back up at Kaname with a sly smirk.

"Don't get any ideas. I know who you really are," she said.

"They why exactly are we in here when I have a class to attend to?" he growled.

"You're being followed. Someone has been sending Shadow Assassins to track you and your compatriots down," she replied.

"And you're telling me this why?"

"Because…my cousin has been kidnapped," she replied.

"Who is your cousin?" asked Kaname.

"You've actually known her for a bit," replied Mizuki.

Kaname became silent for a brief moment before the answer came to him. "Minako?"

"Yes. I was trying to get a hold of her one night before she and her friends left," explained Mizuki.

"I will do what I can to search for her. However…I have some disturbing news. If you don't mind…I'd like to bring it up before lunch," said Kaname.

"I'll be waiting then," she replied, smirking slyly.

"Tease," he said.

"Flirt," she answered back.

As Mizuki slowly opened the door, Kaname was still bright red from how close both of them were before shaking it off and regaining his composure. Checking his watch, Kaname found he still had time before homeroom began and went straight to the men's restroom to fix himself up again.

By the time he got to homeroom, he spotted Nanoha with Arisa and Suzuka and handed his note to the homeroom teacher. Despite being able to catch up with what was missed, Kaname still had that uneasy feeling about when and where the sudden attack would happen. Even moreso to the point, the possibility of word getting out about the supernatural realm to public knowledge made him more uneasy.

After being told of an upcoming chapter test during math class, Nanoha then tapped Kaname on the shoulder asking him if he wanted to join her and Yunno for a study group. However, unbeknownst to her, he was actually communicating telepathically with Yunno about the current measures that were being taken.

'_What's the plan?'_ he asked.

'_Capt. Lindy currently has 2 groups of paladins on standby just in case things get hairy,' _answered Yunno.

'_Do you think word will possibly get out about…our realm_?_' _asked Kaname.

'_Let's hope not. We would have to break things slowly to Nanoha, her friends, and her family. Capt. Lindy and Chrono have that part covered_,' answered Yunno.

'_Before the next class, I need to tell you something that could…complicate the situation that will possibly unfold_,' said Kaname.

'_Meet me on the roof then for that_,' answered Yunno.

'_Understood_,' replied Kaname.

"Shiro…Shiro are you listening?" asked Arisa, shaking his left shoulder slightly.

"Oh…sorry. What were you asking me Nanoha?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to join us along with Yunno to form a study group for the upcoming math test," she suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea," he replied. "Is he really that good from what I hear?"

"Who…Yunno? Of course…he's a bit of a child prodigy as a matter of fact. Sometimes he stays behind to help tutor some of the other students," replied Nanoha.

"That's quite generous of him," answered Kaname.

Unfortunately for him, the teacher called him up next to solve a certain math problem involving finding a slope. By the time Kaname had answered the question and the lecture was finished, he felt his phone vibrating in his right pocket.

"So what's your next class Shiro?" asked Suzuka.

"Turns out to be PE," said Kaname.

"Ugh…I can't stand that class," said Nanoha.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"I tend to have a bit of trouble with the 'physical' part," she replied.

"I see," answered Kaname.

"Oh by the way…we've been told that the PE teacher was going to be out for a few days so there's a substitute today," added Nanoha.

"Any clue as to what happened?" he asked.

"Nothing much…just looked like he had been physically drained, weak even," she answered.

Kaname nodded slowly in acknowledgement and thought to himself, 'Interesting.'

When the class ended and the bell rang for a break between classes, Kaname then turned to the girls and excused himself as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

Once in the hallway as students were going from one room to the next or heading elsewhere along the campus, Kaname then answered.

"What have you got for me guys?" he asked.

"This may sound a bit weird to you guys but…it turns out that there was some vampire attack some years ago before the branch here was ever formed. Also I've received word from an anonymous source that the girl that you met, Fate…could be a hybrid," said Chrono.

"Has there been any reports that she's been seen feeding?" asked Kaname.

"That's the kicker. She has red eyes, which could symbolize the wanting of blood, but…there's something else that doesn't make sense," he said.

"Which would be what?"

"Some of the ones that we've encountered usually have blue eyes…almost like a light blue…similar to ice," answered Chrono.

"What's with hers?" asked Kaname.

"We're not sure. However, there's a possibility it could be that she was somehow given their powers and has never had to feed at all," said Chrono.

"That's impossible. Most would go insane if they haven't fed and she would've had to have done exactly that," said Kaname.

"Not if they were an ancient," he answered.

"How can you even trust the source that gave you the information?" asked Kaname.

"The name wasn't given…but Reo spotted something before the informant left," said Chrono.

"What was it?" he asked.

"A mark…similar to the one on your right hand," he replied.

Kaname's eyes went wide in shock and disbelief for a brief moment. Chrono was trying to get a hold of him still. The shock however, felt like it drowned out all noise for a while. By the time he regained composure, Kaname got his full attention.

"Did you hear what I just said…he could possibly be a family member," said Chrono.

"Yeah…keep me posted," said Kaname, before hanging up.

Seconds later, Kaname felt a strange sense of dizziness come upon him and then quick flashes of events that appeared in quick succession before having to support himself by leaning against the wall and placing a hand to his forehead, Kaname tried to shut his eyes to try and endure the sudden nausea.

The exact same scenario that he noticed in his dreams was showing again, however, there was one slight difference. He noticed two other figures that were fighting the exact same enemies that Nanoha was before the rest of the school was evacuated.

As the headache began to fade, Kaname found himself breathing heavily and slightly sweating.

'Oh man…either I'm having hallucinations or that vision is telling me something. I have to notify the others,' thought Kaname, as he headed to the rooftop.

Back in the confines of the cold holding cell, Selendia and Minako explained to each other how the other came across the prophecy fragments while Minako explained to Selendia about what each "key" was capable of by itself.

"I'm a bit curious though…how exactly did you meet your husband? I thought there weren't that many magi in history," asked Minako.

"To be honest…none of us, even the paladins knew how many there were. However, we think that before any of our kind, even before the formation of the paladins, existed…there were battles between them," explained Selendia. "My husband was actually also part teacher as well…training other young potential magi. He also knew of another kind of magi which were called Necro Mages that dealt with the darker side of magic."

"Do you think it has to do with those artifacts?" asked Minako.

"How did your friends come upon one of those anyway?" asked Selendia.

"They received a tip from an anonymous source about it and your son and his team were accompanying them. They said it led them into an ancient ruin site that presumably belonged to vampires," she answered.

"Was there any insignia that could give a clue as to who the place belonged to?" asked Selendia.

Minako's hands shook a bit as she fumbled through her worn out clothes and then remembered that the item was in her shoes, the one place that her captors didn't consider to look. Taking her right shoe off and slightly pulling back the inside, fished out three small pieces of paper and handed two of them to Selendia.

"The first…is the insignia," she replied.

"And the second?"

"I'll give you three guesses as to what it is…but I'm sure you already know the answer to it," replied Minako.

Unfolding the first one revealed a skull with wings on the side and a sword that appeared to be driven into the skull. At that instant…Selendia's eyes widened in shock.

"I know this. How did you…" she began.

"He wouldn't give his name. All he told me was that the earlier events past will bring the current ones up to speed and accelerate the doomsday process," replied Minako.

As Selendia unfolded the second piece and saw familiar writing, she gave a quick glance at Minako who held the third piece of paper before reading the fragment and recited in the language of the vampires.

"He managed to translate it for me…but insisted that this piece be given…to a trustworthy person," she added, before handing it to her. "There's one thing I don't get though."

"What is it?" asked Selendia.

"How could you recall certain events…retain those ones…and not others that your husband told you?"

"What do you mean?" she inquired.

"You said you lied to your son about certain details…unless…some of them were modified without your notice."

"That's not possible. If he did I would've…" she began.

"Do you recall the last moments before your husband passed?" asked Minako.

Selendia tried to recall them the best she could…yet as she tried to, a familiar dizzying sensation occurred, causing her to lean against the cold steel bars, confirming Minako's suspicions.

"I'm sorry…I don't remember," she said.

"Then I stand corrected," answered Minako.

"How could you know this?"

"I've read up on the studies of past magi…mainly because one of my few relatives was a mentor and he caught me looking into his books one night. I asked him about mind altering spells and why some would use them. He told me with a guilty tone in his voice…that some would try and cover their tracks or hide information that they felt shouldn't be revealed lest an outside source should find out. I then answered that despite a mage's efforts, such things will eventually come to light," explained Minako. "My sister happens to be a hunter…that…forgive me for saying this…hunts a certain kind and has slight distrust for."

"My kind," guessed Selendia, to which she nodded. "What caused it?"

"Our mother was attacked by a newborn while pregnant with my sister. Luckily she managed to fend it off but was bleeding bad. She knew hospitals wouldn't understand how the attack occurred and was found by someone that she never knew but was taken care for in a hotel room."

"So…she's like my son?" she asked.

"More than likely…but, I don't think she realizes it…yet," answered Minako.

"A bite from a newborn has some potential to incapacitate, but rarely turn one. However…there has been some that…strangely enough…bonded with our genetic structure without the use of scientific instruments," said Selendia. "However…the symptoms are pretty much the same for any who have been bitten. Our blood on the other hand…has a bit of a hypnotic effect to humans that drink it."

"You think that it was done on a molecular level?"

"Perhaps," she replied.

"You said that your blood has a hypnotic effect. So…that would literally create a master/servant type of relationship?"

"In a manner…yes it does. They become somewhat of a "mini blood bank". They feed only when they need to…and the 'victim' remains a servant to the one that bit him/her," replied Selendia.

"I'm a bit curious though…have there been any…that could tell the difference between your kind and a hybrid?" asked Minako.

"There used to be many…now it's slightly dwindling and they're pretty much scattered so to speak. Although for those of us that were royal lineage, we have our resources to seek them out if need be. Why the sudden interest?"

"If your son is part vampire and magus…why doesn't he show the symptoms of one that needs to feed like others?" asked Minako. "He appears to be the only one of his kind. The way I see it…he could possibly pose a bit of a threat to the magi community if they knew what he was."

"That is none of your concern, human," replied Selendia, with a hint of anger in her tone. "What is the _real_ reason?"

"I need to know…"

Selendia became silent for a moment before explaining the usual signs for vampires.

"The symptoms will easily tell for themselves. Weakness, feeling tired or drained, a dry feeling in your throat," replied Selendia. "Have you ever experienced any of them?"

Minako shook her head in response.

"There's one other thing about us vampires that I haven't told you yet about what happens when we usually feed," said Selendia.

"You heal from drinking the blood of others," guessed Minako.

"Oh…so you know."

"You're not the only one who knows about one's own species and their abilities," she answered. "I overheard it once while my uncle was training my sister one night. The ballistic rounds that are used now react to vampire blood. You hardly heal quickly enough when wounded. Although exposed to actual sunlight, it still drains you…but when hit with one of our bullets…it gradually slows down the healing process."

"Have you ever fought a lycan before?"

"Once," she replied.

"Then you should know that silver affects them internally…not externally," said Selendia. "During my time in exile, I've received word that a small group has been quietly experimenting on trying to have their kind resist silver. However…the occasional headshot has seldom worked and most had to resort to…medieval methods. There's only one problem though."

"Not many are experienced with medieval methods," guessed Minako, to which Selendia nodded.

"Tell me Minako…is there someone else…that you're trying to look into? Is that the reason for your earlier inquiry?"

"There's someone…that appears to be what you told me earlier about…bonding your blood on a molecular level…but, she appears to possibly be…similar to someone else," answered Minako.

"What do you mean?"

"Her eyes…are red and…before I got captured…I saw…a person, in a tank…a young blonde girl," explained Minako. "I think that there's…a clone…somewhere."

Selendia could only slowly nod in a stunned sort of manner.

"This lair that you…found…did you find out who it belonged to?" asked Selendia.

"I was temporarily knocked out but…I could faintly hear the name," she answered.

"Which was…"

Minako was silent for a few moments, before Selendia called out her name again trying to get her attention.

"Minako…give me the name," she ordered.

She slowly looked up at the former queen, eye level and said her voice barely a whisper "Precia Testarossa."


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Favors and Lies**

As Chrono and Amy were going over the various details regarding Kaname's family history, Philip himself was busy browsing through the various books that Yunno had with him when he got back with the Familiar, Xelia. It was only through an old battered black book with red linings near the edges of the front cover as well as the strange writing that was on it that Philip notified Chrono.

"Guys…I think I found something," he said.

"What do you have?" asked Chrono.

"It's not something I recognize…but I think this might have some clue as to what the actual purpose of these crystals that we've been hearing about are…as well as other things," said Philip.

"That book belonged to one of our historian archivists," said Xelia, perched above them hanging on a small wire near a lamp.

"What does it contain?" asked Chrono.

"Are you sure you want to know even though you might not like the answer?" she asked.

"The way I see it we don't have much of an option," said Philip. "Where's Reo sand Subaru?"

"We sent them out on sentry duty and told them to report back if they noticed anything odd," said Capt. Lindy.

"So what's in the book?" asked Philip.

"You've already mentioned a bit of what's in there Philip. Whoever told you other things regarding these crystals…might have misinformed you," said Xelia.

"So you're saying that the archivist that Kaname went to before…was probably a spy?" asked Chrono.

"In a manner…it's possible. However, there is one detail that I found that might pique your interest but…it's a bit dangerous," said Xelia.

"What is it?" asked Philip.

"Those that were sealed inside the dark fangs…how should I put this…fed…on dark emotions. These were gathered in smaller doses from the tinier ones that were known as Shadow Seeds," explained Xelia.

"Necro mages managed to obtain power from them…however, it drains them at the same time."

"Wait a second…there was one that was on that traitor Patrick during that sudden raid," said Philip. "And I think I saw two others on those demonic soldiers that were accompanying him."

"Those would be the seeds that you found. Each links to one fang and when there's enough…the user is then completely drained," said Xelia.

"Wait…when you mean 'drained'…" began Chrono.

"Yes…that's exactly what I mean. However…there is one other thing about the fangs that you might find…disturbing," she said.

"Which is…what?" inquired Philip.

"They've been known to cause madness, perverse the mind, and possess the body," answered Xelia.

"Is there any way to destroy them?" asked Chrono.

"There's only one effective method. Exorcisms only work on demons…but not on artifacts…none like this anyway. The only way to destroy them…is through massive magic damage. You'd have to bind the person extremely well in order for it to work," she replied.

"I think there are only a couple of people we know that can work on binds," said Philip.

As Kaname worked his way to the rooftop of the campus, he spotted a small window which overlooked not just the rest of the school grounds, but in the distance he could spot Tokyo Tower. However, just as he was about to continue onwards, a quick flash of yellow zipped by and barely caught his eye.

'Was that…who I think it was?' he wondered.

Shaking it off, Kaname eventually reached the rooftop where he spotted Yunno waiting for him.

"I got your message by the way," he said.

"Good timing," replied Kaname.

"What was so important?" asked Yunno.

"Remember that time when Fate came by and told us about that prophecy segment?" he inquired.

"Of course…why?"

"When she felt she was being followed…I believed her…to an extent. However, as I walked inside the campus today…Principal Mizuki pulled me in the storage room and warned me that we were being followed," answered Kaname.

However, as soon as he mentioned that bit, Kaname mentally cursed at himself and wished he had thought a bit more quickly as to how he was warned. That small tidbit caused Yunno to raise an eyebrow in both curiosity and suspicion.

"What in the world were you two doing in the storage room?" he asked.

"Don't let your imagination go to your head. It's NOT what it looked like," said Kaname.

"So…why would she warn you when she could have told you elsewhere?" asked Yunno.

"Probably not to give away any clues to our…hunters," said Kaname.

"Hunters?" inquired Yunno.

"Our guess is that we're probably blown right when Fate was at our place. Someone must have known she was up to something and sent those to follow her…at least that what Mizuki believes, and yet they must have realized where their next target would be," said Kaname.

"Here," guessed Yunno.

"So it would seem. However, that's not the worst of it…before I left to answer a call from Chrono, Nanoha told me that the actual instructor for PE was out for a few days…possibly either sick or pulling a sickie, or…something happened to him that nobody knows about. I then had a slight vision that was similar to a dream sequence I told Xelia one night…this time however, it was similar to that…except there were a couple of other individuals fighting alongside Nanoha," explained Kaname.

"Was this from your point-of-view?" he asked.

"Most likely," he answered. "Bad news is…that's apparently my next class."

"I'll notify the others and have Capt. Lindy place the two platoons on standby," said Yunno.

"Let's hope your little hunch proves right," said Kaname.

"Was she trying to flirt with you or something?" asked Yunno.

"Didn't I already say that wasn't the case, ferret-boy?" shot back Kaname.

"No need for you to put it that way," he answered.

"Besides…I doubt she'd be interested in me like THAT," replied Kaname. "Although I think what would make it worse is if she knew about both me and my mother."

"Why is that?" asked Yunno.

"During that one attack in the girls' bathroom, I was trying to get some information from that rouge vampire, until Mizuki silenced it," explained Kaname.

"Oh…point taken. Just be glad she doesn't know you're somewhat of a hybrid," said Yunno.

For a split second, Kaname's eyes changed from brown to ice blue before responding, "Let's just hope it stays that way."

By the time Kaname and Yunno got back down to the second floor, Yunno explained to him how to get to the boys' locker room which was on lower left side of the basketball court. However, the only thing that Kaname felt uneasy about was to explain about the mark on his right hand.

"I think I can cover that part for you," said Yunno. "I'll notify Telecathias and Mizuki after Chrono and Capt. Lindy."

"Much appreciated," he replied.

As Kaname followed the directions that Yunno provided to get to the boys' locker room, he felt a familiar dizzying sensation before it got accompanied by that burning sensation on his right hand, causing him to lean against the wall when he got inside the locker room.

'Something's not right here…but what is it?' he wondered, breathing heavily.

'_Kaname…can you hear me? It's Chrono_.'

'_What's going on_?' he asked.

'_Reo and Subaru just got back, but Subaru's pretty banged up. They reported running into several hooded figures that appeared to have demon-like properties. They were able to fend them off temporarily, the two platoons we deployed were with them but most got taken down, until Reo noticed the direction they're taking,_' explained Chrono.

'_Which was…'_

'_They're headed for the school_,' he replied.

'_Damn it…just when things couldn't get worse. I'm faintly detecting a dark presence here…however…I think Nanoha just gave me the clue I needed before break. I've been notified by Mizuki about something called Shadow Assassins tracking us. I told Yunno about it and he was about to warn the others,' _answered Kaname.

'_Kaname…it's Amy. We just looked up the individuals that work at that school and one of them happens to be in league with an old military friend of yours,_' she said.

'_Who_?' he asked.

'_We're not sure…but he seemed to know quite a bit about you_,' she replied.

At that instant…Kaname suddenly paled for a brief moment trying to piece things together and came across a conclusion that he didn't see coming.

'_Kaname…Kaname, are you there? Answer me!_' called out Amy.

'_It's a trap_,' said Kaname.

'_What?!' _exclaimed Chrono_._

'_Philip send the data to the Audi, tell Reo and Subaru to take it and meet us over at the campus grounds double-time! I'm going to notify Yunno,' _replied Kaname.

As he quickly went through the various possible scenarios in his head and weighed his options, Kaname then quickly changed into uniform which was mostly a white shirt and blue shorts but kept his device around his neck when the time came. By the time he finished, other boys then came in and were getting ready while Kaname then headed out into the basketball court and waited. He then took the opportunity to notify Yunno via telepathy.

'_Yunno are you there?_' called out Kaname.

'_I just reached the principal's office and there's been quite a scuffle. It turns out someone has been keeping tabs on you and Telecathias intervened somehow. He's knocked out but I'm not sure how long it'll last,' _replied Yunno.

'_Good…cause I just realized this whole thing was a trap. Nanoha's also at risk. If what I told you earlier does come to pass, we could be looking at real trouble in the long run_,' answered Kaname. '_I've sent word to Capt. Lindy and Chrono. Notify me if any trouble heads our way_.'

'_You got it_,' said Yunno.

Just as the students began to assemble, Kaname noticed Nanoha with her friends also coming out with them. Trying to keep calm and acting normal, he then joined the others silently as the PE sub came in. He seemed tall, had neatly combed brown hair, a medium build, and was wearing sunglasses. What caught Kaname's eye however was a sudden flash of black on the right wrist that appeared to be a metal wristband; seconds later, that familiar throbbing pain that was accompanied by a burning sensation resurfaced. Nanoha noticed the way Kaname was acting and took a quick glance before tapping him on the shoulder.

"Are you OK?" she asked.

"I think so," he replied.

As the roll call was being done, Kaname tried his best to fight the pain mentally despite the throbbing in his head. Nanoha took note of this and took a quick peek before tapping Kaname on the shoulder.

"Are you OK?" she asked.

"I think so," he replied.

Seconds later, a strange ringing sound began to reach his ears, causing him to cover them. Nanoha also heard it and covered her ears as well. The sound was followed by a barrier that enveloped the entire area.

"Wh-what is that noise?" she wondered.

However, what caught Kaname's attention next eventually gave away the tell. As soon as Nanoha's name was called, a small purple orb of energy formed on the sub's right hand. At that moment, Kaname yelled out to Nanoha, "Get down!"

Nanoha was confused at first when he yelled it out, but didn't have time to respond after she felt herself being tackled down by him. The blast radius barely reached the students, including Nanoha's friends. Things began to escalate when the small windows near the top section of the stands were broken and several Shadow Assassins appeared.

"What's going on?" wondered Nanoha.

'Great…just what I needed…more trouble,' thought Kaname.

Just as the substitute was about to launch another attack, a series of chains ensnared him and the Shadow Assassins as Yunno came bursting through the door with Mizuki not far behind him. She then took out what appeared to be a pole staff but then seconds later, two energy filled scythe blades appeared on opposite ends. What really stunned Kaname was her agility while holding the weapon. The assassin's kept firing projectiles at her but they kept getting deflected as she spun her weapon constantly in a circular motion. Three of them stopped firing, leapt off and engaged in battle with her. As Kaname scanned amidst the current chaos for the person that attacked Nanoha, he then noticed him making his way towards her but as he tried to get closer, that familiar feeling he felt before the attack came back.

'Damn it…what…is this guy?' he wondered.

Kaname took a quick glance at Nanoha's friends who suddenly were too shocked and frightened to even escape. However, what happened next Kaname did not expect to happen so quickly. Just as he was about to strike, something within him awoke allowing him to see through the façade of the person attacking, causing his eyes to widen in surprise and shock.

Standing before Nanoha was demon that had a beastial head that resembled a disfigured bull wielding a spiked mace.

As for Nanoha, the device that Yunno placed in her bag suddenly began to speak in a mechanized female type of voice.

"_I can help you_," she said.

"Eh? Who said that?" she wondered.

"_Don't be alarmed…I was sent to aid you_," it replied.

As Nanoha looked into her bag, she then spotted a round red gem that wasn't in her bag before and picked it up. When she held it in her hand, the gem itself began to emit a pink glow.

"Nanoha…use it now!" shouted Yunno, as he struggled to keep the ones that he bound to stay that way.

"This? I'm not sure how," she replied.

"Close your eyes and clear your mind," replied Yunno. "Activating administrative rights…open new user setup."

"_Registering new user…your current magic levels make you qualified to use me_," chirped the red gem.

"What? Magic level?" wondered Nanoha.

"Yunno…what's this barrier that formed around this whole area?" asked Kaname.

"It's a type of field that separates magic from reality. Humans can't see what's going on inside the barrier nor can they go in it. The surrounding area inside the barrier however will be affected," explained Yunno.

"_Once I'm through with you…your blonde friend is next_," said the demon in the guise of a PE teacher.

'_What? Who is he talking about? Is it Fate? No…she's…she's a friend. I won't let you hurt her!_' thought Nanoha.

As if sensing her thoughts, the device activated.

"_Command accepted. Barrier jacket set up: Divine Armor," _chirped the device_._

The sudden burst of light caused both Kaname and the demon to shield their eyes as a pink ray of light enveloped Nanoha. The cold air wrapped around Nanoha while lifting her up as the fabric began to take shape. What she didn't realize was that it was all from her mind that the fabric formed into what she was thinking. The hands became covered in black gloves while the wrist guards from the jacket formed that were blue with gold lines wrapped around the middle and a tiny red jewel close to the tip of the wrist guard to complete it.

Afterwards as the rest of the barrier jacket formed first around her chest going down before separating at the torso, followed by a white miniskirt that had a blue triangle pattern wrapped around it. The shoes were the last thing to form, resembling nothing more than what appeared to be normal sneakers that were right before the stockings wrapped around Nanoha's feet, completing the transformation. The staff itself had a white handle with a pink end while the top of it was a golden curve with the red jewel placed in the middle and held securely with two exhaust ports sticking at the lower end of the curve. It resembled what some would consider a typical traditional mage's staff…except this was no ordinary mage's staff.

Kaname's eyes widened in surprise when he quickly put together the images from the events that flashed in his mind, but something else was bothering him just as much as this sudden revelation.

'So he wasn't kidding after all,' he thought. 'But who could have tipped it off?'

Mizuki managed to fend off two of her attackers but the third one caught sight of Nanoha's transformation. Kaname then realized the current situation had escalated another level and that Nanoha might not know much on magic and had to think quickly.

'Oh…that's just great, not only will she have to hide her identity from others but the fact that those around her could be targets has just made this a lot worse. Well…that's just prime,' thought Kaname.

The third Shadow Assassin then made his way toward Kaname very quickly…so fast that Mizuki was only able to block one of the assassin's attacks that she was engaging in and yell out, "Kaname behind you!"

However, Kaname then spotted a quick flash of sliver which then made him smirk.

"I don't think so," he said, as he swiftly kicked aside the assassin's right hand which held a dagger, causing him to stagger, but not before Kaname finished up with a sweeping low kick knocking him down to the floor.

As Kaname faced the demon that was heading for Nanoha, the device that was around his neck began to float in front of him emanating that same silver aura.

"_I've been waiting for you_," chirped the device.

"How did…" he began.

"_You wish to help your friends_?" it asked. Kaname then nodded.

"_Then join forces with me…become a meister_."

As Kaname then placed his right hand and grasped the device, a magic circle with an X inside of it formed beneath him.

'I have to find out the truth behind these events…I won't let the enemy get the best of me. I WILL see this through to the end,' thought Kaname, with his eyes closed.

As if reading his thoughts, the device then activated.

"Command accepted, barrier jacket start up," chirped the device.

Kaname then felt the chill of wind sweep through around him as he felt himself being lifted up. First the fabric wrapped around his arms forming a dark blue color with a mini crescent at the top of the sleeve before metal gauntlets formed on top near the hands, a dark blue vest formed at the front before an interwoven wooden chest plate covered it. The shoulders were covered in a metallic silver armor with gold lines running around the edges, and then the same was for the legs, resembling that of iron greaves worn by warriors, a simple leather brown belt wrapped around the waist, and a metal helm with a crescent design in the middle top was placed around the head. There was a scabbard with an extra pocket at the top, and a trigger that was hidden at the hilt of the sword completing the transformation. All in all, it made him resemble that of a samurai during the feudal eras in ancient Japan.

When Nanoha came to, she was slightly surprised as to the current situation because of a few things: 1.) The outfit she was wearing as well as what she was holding, 2.) The fact that she can now see what was really standing in front of her, causing her to feel slightly intimidated, 3.) She could also see that Kaname was also wearing battle armor as well.

Seconds later, the glass above the stands shattered again as several more Shadow Assassins appeared above them.

'Oh great…more of them,' thought Kaname, as he sighed in annoyance.

"There are two of you now? No matter…I'll deal with you first," replied the demon, facing Kaname.

"Wh-what's going on? What am I wearing?" wondered Nanoha.

"We'll explain later. Right now, you should try and help Mizuki-san and Yunno," answered Kaname. "The big guy is mine."

"_Do you know anything on magic_?" chirped the red gem.

"None…nothing at all," she replied.

"_Then allow me to help you_," said the device. "_Follow my instructions_."

The chains that were holding the remainder of the Shadow Assassins and the demon began to lose their hold and several more Shadow Assassins began to appear.

'Damn it…just how many are there?' wondered Kaname.

The bull headed demon with the mace then began to advance on Kaname with its right hand wielding the mace raised to strike. However, what he didn't notice was that the one assassin he knocked out earlier had just gotten back up and had its dagger ready poised to strike. Nanoha took note and managed to warn Kaname in time.

As soon as Kaname spotted the assassin, he quickly drew out his sword and blocked the first attempt before kicking the assassin forward and having him get clobbered by the mace before turning into black dust. Knowing that there was hardly any time to rest, Kaname then spotted the second wave of Shadow assassins take aim towards Nanoha.

"Nanoha…above you!" shouted Kaname.

As the projectiles were fired, Nanoha then raised her staff which then produced a barrier in front of her, catching the shots fired before they disintegrated seconds later. The bull headed demon raised his right hand wielding the mace to strike and Kaname noticed the slight delay between the raise and the landing of the blow was mere seconds.

'He's strong but shouldn't be very nimble. We've got to take the battle outside so that there would be little damage inside,' thought Kaname. He looked outside towards the sky for a brief moment. Suddenly, it dawned on him as to how to create little damage within the school grounds.

"Nanoha, Yunno…we can take these guys outside of the school grounds," said Kaname.

"How do you suggest we do that?" asked Yunno.

"Just follow my lead," he replied. "Wait for my signal."

As the mace came down again, Kaname drew his sword quickly while using the scabbard to catch the mace. The angle of the slash arc was horizontal and was enough to cause a gash at the stomach before Kaname switched his handling to backhand before doing a series of zig-zag slashes, and then using the scabbard, gave a hard shove and with an adjustment by the wrist switched the handling back to normal before putting the sword back in its scabbard. What Kaname didn't notice was that the sword emitted a blue aura while in use.

The result was threefold. First, the force of the push caused the demon to lose its footing, second, the series of slashes were enough to wound the demon and slow him down, and third, the combined effect made it difficult for him to get back up.

As for the assassins targeting Nanoha, she managed to fire several magic bullets temporarily stunning them. Mizuki had finished her opponents before a third wave of Shadow Assassins appeared above them.

"Now…move!" shouted Kaname.

As the four of them made their way through the third wave outside at the back of the school grounds, Kaname mentally cursed and realized that even though there were trees in the back and the field was wide…there was no telling as to where his allies would come in.

By the time they were outside, Kaname noticed that there was a track and field course outside and in the distance was a large field probably used for soccer.

By the time that Reo and Subaru arrived on the scene, Subaru could clearly see the barrier whereas Reo couldn't.

"Oh great…now there's no telling as to where they are in the campus," said Reo.

"There's a barrier around the school though, so there's no telling as to how many people could be inside," said Subaru.

"Barrier…I don't see one," said Reo.

"What? But…it's right there," she replied, pointing to a dome like shape covering the school campus.

"Nope…I don't see it," he answered back.

"I'm going to go help them out," said Subaru, getting out of the car.

"Well what am I supposed to do?" asked Reo.

"Just keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary," replied Subaru, heading inside the barrier.

Back over at the campus, Kaname continued to fight against the demon before him while Nanoha was trying to get used to using her newfound skills as a mage. Mizuki was slowly starting to tire from fending off each attack from the assassins.

The demon raised its mace again at Kaname, swung, and missed. Kaname knew that the demon was strong but not nimble, yet he himself could feel the fatigue slowly setting in.

'I can't keep this up forever. I've got to get it up somehow. The area is wide enough and the barrier should prevent any magic damage from reaching the surrounding areas…depending on the type used. Wait a second…the sky…that's it, but how to…' wondered Kaname, with his sword at the ready again, facing his adversary. He then took a quick glance and noticed Nanoha in the sky with the assassins trying to gain higher ground to get at her but so far…each attempt has hit nothing but air. It was then he spotted the wings at the shoes and then noticed the way Yunno kept trying to bind the ones that were advancing on Mizuki and Nanoha. The solution then became clear.

"Yunno…how much longer can you keep the ones you have tied up?" asked Kaname.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can hold them off, but I'll try," he replied.

What he didn't notice was that one assassin managed to sneak up behind and was poised to strike. Nanoha spotted it just as she fired off several pink bullets at the ones that were engaging her and warned Yunno via telepathy.

"_Yunno-kun…behind you!_" said Nanoha.

Just as Yunno was about to turn around and just as the blow was about to fall, something burst through one of the other doorways that led to the basketball court and someone armed with geared knuckles just punched through the assassin before it dissipated.

Kaname then dodged another attempt the bull demon made before taking a quick glance as to who the person was that just burst into the scene. It was until he spotted the blue fur on the head that Kaname smirked, but immediately turned various shades of red when he saw what Subaru was wearing once the dust cleared and mentally cursed in his head thinking, 'That's a bit revealing…somewhat.'

"Hehe…sorry I'm late," said Subaru.

"Who's that?" wondered Nanoha.

"_It appears to be an ally_," chirped the red device.

"Actually you're right on time," said Kaname, getting his sword at the ready. As Kaname got ready, his left arm brushed against something in a small box at the side of his belt. Reaching in, he felt what resembled a shell casing. When pulled out, his device then explained that it was used to amplify magic levels. A small slot opened near the hilt and Kaname seemed to have figured out the use of it and placed a few in. In an instant, the sword began revert from blade to what resembled that of a rifle. The hidden trigger then revealed itself on the other side of the hilt. Kaname then tried to communicate to the others, besides Mizuki, in telepathy.

"_Guys…I think I've got an idea_," said Kaname.

"_Well could you please hurry it up a bit…I'm not sure how much more I can hold them_," said Yunno.

"J_ust a little longer…hear me out first. Subaru…think you can get this big guy in the air_?" asked Kaname.

"_No problem…that guy won't know what hit him_," replied Subaru.

"_Nanoha…how are things going on your end_?" asked Kaname.

"_So far…I think I've gotten most of them,_" she replied.

"_Alright…we've got only one shot at this. Yunno…when Subaru's got the demon in the air…use your binds to fully secure him, then Nanoha and I will take the shots needed to take him out_," explained Kaname.

"_That sounds simple enough…make it fast_," said Yunno.

Kaname began sending magic rounds down range at the bull headed demon to catch its attention. As soon as it spotted Kaname, he tried to charge at him despite his size until Subaru came in charging and using her geared knuckle on her right hand, gave the demon a hard punch to the stomach before it got sent up into the air. What Kaname didn't see was that Mizuki, after finishing off the assassins that engaged her a while ago, used her pole staff with the energy scythes off to bring herself up to the second floor of the school and then with a quick twist from the staff, divide it in two and use them as a means to get to the roof.

Nanoha kept trying to shoot down the projectiles being fired from her while firing back at the third wave that was currently engaging her from the rooftops. By the time the demon was up in the air, Subaru then took out the Shadow Assassins that Yunno had bound from the second wave, before he was able to focus his efforts on chaining the demon securely. Nanoha then noticed the number of projectile missiles coming at her starting to diminish as she turned and saw Mizuki engaging them on the rooftops.

Kaname then called out to Nanoha telepathically and explained to her the current situation before pointing his device at the demon. She could see from below a faint silhouette resembling Kaname pointing something and looked at where he was pointing at and saw the demon that she had seen before the battle chained up by Yunno's binds and got the message. She then pointed at the demon with her staff and the device responded.

"_Executing command: changing to cannon mode_."

In mere seconds, the curved end of the staff began to form into something that looked like the barrel of a firearm, except that most of the top save for the back part was there. Small bits of pink magic energy began to gather at the center, the barrel resembling tip pointed at the demon.

"_Locking on target…preparing to shoot._"

As Nanoha prepared to fire, Kaname tried to keep his arms steady as he aimed with his and explained to Nanoha telepathically. Mizuki had already cleared out the remaining Shadow Assassins and looked on to where Nanoha was at.

"_Wait for my cue to fire…I'm thinking that despite the demon being bound he's sure to be protected somehow,_" said Kaname, telepathically. He then pulled the trigger once the lock was confirmed.

"Twilight shooter," chirped the device.

He fired off three rounds to test his hypothesis. Nanoha saw three quick shots heading up and to their surprise, Kaname was right. A red shield in the shape of an egg was surrounding the demon. Even though it was visible for no more than a few seconds…Kaname knew what he had to do.

"_Nanoha…once the barrier is gone, that's when you take your shot_,_ understood_?" instructed Kaname.

"_Uh, yeah…I got it,_" she replied.

Several magic rings began to form at the end of the rifle before magic energy began to gather. Kaname then braced himself for the sudden push that the shot would produce and hoped he would be able to hold his ground as he made his attempt to break the barrier.

'_We've only got one shot at this…I have to make this count_,' thought Kaname.

"Ready to let loose…partner?" asked Kaname.

"_Awaiting your orders, sir_," replied the device.

As soon as Kaname felt he had the shot, he then pulled the trigger.

"Lunar breaker," chirped the device.

A huge beam of energy shot forth from the rifle headed straight for the demon and as predicted…the shield surrounding it revealed itself. As Kaname tried to steady himself from the force of the blast, Nanoha looking from a distance spotted the cracks that began to form.

Mizuki, Subaru, and Yunno also saw the attack as well as the shield formed around the target.

"They're both shooting from a distance…that's a risky gamble. One misfire and it could destroy the barrier surrounding the area," said Subaru.

'Just a little more…come on,' thought Kaname, as he used his body to absorb the pushing force from the blast.

Suddenly, Nanoha noticed the demon starting to move and struggle as he tried to break the binds holding him. She quickly notified Kaname telepathically.

"_You're going to have to think quick…he's trying to break the binds_," said Nanoha.

"_That's not good_," said Kaname. 'I'm going to have to try a double tap…although this could get a bit draining.'

"Can you do a follow up shot?" asked Kaname.

"_Able and willing sir_," replied the device.

"Let's hope this works," said Kaname, after the first shot began to recede. He immediately prepped up for the two quick shots that were aimed at the demon that was nearly free.

"Better hurry it up Kaname…I can't hold out much longer," said Yunno.

"Don't overdo it," shouted Mizuki, from the rooftops.

"I have no choice," replied Kaname, as he took aim once more.

'Try this on for size.'

"Crescent blaster," chirped the device.

The shots that went off began to go at a curved form like that of the moon, as one shot went left and the other right; from a distance it looked like it was in a pincer formation. Once connected, the shield formed up again showing the already apparent cracks. Since the effect was like that of a pincer claw, the pressure from both shots began to slowly break through. The backlash from the shot however, almost threw Kaname to the ground. Nanoha then had her shot prepared once the shield was broken.

"Divine…" chirped the red gem

The pincer effect from the blast did the trick and the shield eventually broke. However, the demon was eventually free from the binds, yet it wasn't prepared for another strike.

Nanoha saw the shield destroyed and knew that was her cue and pulled the trigger.

"Buster."

The huge amount of pink magic energy surged towards the demon at a fast rate, barely enough for the demon to notice. It tried to block it but to no avail. The rest of the energy unfortunately hit the barrier and it looked like it was about to break if it weren't for the demon disintegrating before them as the beam began to die down. Fortunately, the barrier barely withstood the blast from Nanoha's attack and the fight eventually ended.

Kaname leaned against his device for support as he suddenly felt a bit drained from what had just happened.

"That…was…intense," he panted. A light began to surround Kaname as the barrier jacket began to disappear and he was back in his uniform and the device reverted back to its original size and form.

The same case occurred with Nanoha as she slowly descended back to the ground. Subaru's barrier jacket was also starting to fade as she found herself in her civilian attire once more.

'_It's a good thing you showed up when you did_,' said Kaname telepathically to Subaru.

'_Kaname…since when did you become a mage_?' she wondered.

'_About 15-20 min. ago…roughly_,' he replied. '_What was with the skimpy outfit_?'

'_What was that?!'_ replied Subaru, starting to get annoyed and surprised.

'_You were wearing worn out jean shorts, a jacket that seemed similar to Nanoha's in appearance, as well as a black vest with blue linings with a zipper in the middle and your stomach was showing_,' replied Kaname.

'_Wait…I was_?' she wondered, still a bit surprised.

'_Yeah…I could see almost quite a bit_,' replied Yunno.

'_Shut up_,' shot back Subaru.

"Looks like you handled yourself well Nanoha. You picked it up pretty quick," said Yunno.

"Not as quick as Kaname did," she replied.

As Kaname slowly stood up and joined them, Mizuki then managed to jump off the rooftop and somehow gracefully landed near them. Mr. Tanaka, aka: Telecathais arrived to the scene a few seconds later.

"If you just came to the party…you're late," said Kaname.

"I heard what you told Mizuki," said Telcathias.

"Is that…" began Mizuki.

"Yes…it's her. Just like Yunno told me," he answered.

"Why did he tell you but not us?" asked Mizuki.

"There are certain times when discretion is necessary," said a voice.

The three of them turned to see Chrono and Capt. Lindy coming through a side gate from the right side of the school campus.

"Our remaining paladins are going after the last two waves," explained Chrono.

"Looks like you've got things covered here," said Capt. Lindy.

"For now at least," said Kaname.

"Um…who are they and what exactly is going on here?" asked Nanoha.

Kaname looked at Chrono and Capt. Lindy and no words needed to be exchanged when Kaname gave that serious look from his eyes.

"It's best that we continue with classes for now. You'll be getting your answers soon enough," said Kaname.

"There's just one thing that bothers me," said Telecathias.

"What's that?" asked Subaru.

"I'm just a bit curious though…what were you and Mizuki doing in the storage room?" asked Telecathias.

At that moment both Kaname and Mizuki turned various shades of red and looked away.

'Oh crap,' he thought.

"What?!" exclaimed Subaru, staring at Kaname.

"It's not what you think," said Kaname, quickly.

"Oh?" wondered Capt. Lindy, with a sly smirk.

"Captain…I'm being serious here," whined Kaname.

"Well…you see…" began Mizuki

"She was just trying to warn me," finished Kaname

Telecathias, aka: Mr. Tanaka raised an eyebrow, smirked, and looked at the two as Mizuki turned back and saw the expression. "Really?"

At that moment, Kaname had an uneasy feeling and Mizuki went from shocked…to really ticked off, took out a slipper and chucked it at his face yelling in Japanese, "You damn pervert!"

Immediately he began running as Mizuki gave chase giving him various threats and as their yelling began to fade, Kaname gave an uneasy laugh, as did Nanoha before she said to Kaname telepathically,

"_I didn't know you were into older women_."

"_I'm not_," he replied. "_What I said earlier was true though_."

"_Is that so_?" she wondered.

"_Oh come on_," groaned Kaname, placing his right hand near his forehead and giving an annoyed sigh.

"We'll be waiting outside," said Chrono.

"Notify us when you're ready," said Capt. Lindy.

"Understood," said Kaname.

As Nanoha and Kaname went back inside, the barrier around the school grounds began to disappear and time appeared to resume its usual course. The other students then began to gather and Arisa and Suzuka began to look around and wondered who the substitute was going to be.

They got their answer when the door opened revealing a familiar face that Kaname instantly recognized from a previous visit. The light brown hair and the green eyes and the manner in which he was walking pretty much gave it away.

'_That's impossible_,' said Kaname, telepathically.

'_What is_?' asked Nanoha.

'_I didn't know he actually does a part time job teaching_. _ He's the exact same guy we met over at that nightclub when you were with Fate_,' replied Kaname.

'_Really? My memory is a bit hazy_,' said Nanoha.

'_Of course…it was the drink. I should've been more attentive_,' said Kaname.

'_It's not your fault. I decided to go along with her_,' said Nanoha.

As Leon made his way over to the group, some of the girls began to talk excitedly amongst themselves as to how good looking he was, causing Kaname to roll his eyes. He then introduced himself to the students and explained that he was going to be the substitute for the PE class until their previous teacher returns. Leon then had them spread out a few feet from each other and work on stretching techniques such as arm circles, cherry pickers, and then jumping jacks. Nanoha tried her best to keep up but found it a bit difficult. After they had finish with their stretches, Leon then led them outside at the back, and some of the students then began talking to themselves when they saw the extent of what damage was present over at the track and field. Some of the metal chain linked fences were bent or torn, others completely bent. The rubber tarmac on the field appeared to have had a few large imprints. Nanoha and Kaname looked at each other for a brief moment before looking away.

'_I don't think what happened today might sit well with my family_,' said Nanoha, telepathically.

'_We'll do our best to break it down to you guys…slowly…if we must_,' answered Kaname.

As the students then ran two laps around the track, Leon watched from a distance before Mizuki came to join him as they sat on the bleachers.

"I'm presuming someone tipped off someone about what happened here," said Leon.

"How could you even tell when you're not even a magus?" asked Mizuki.

"Last I recall, you were only a vampire hunter," he replied. "I'm just filling in until the previous PE teacher comes back."

"Have you found anything lately?" she asked.

"What? In order to help you…or Kaname and his team?" asked Leon.

"You forgot about that brunette girl," said Mizuki.

"Who…her?" asked Leon, pointing to the one with the white bow in curved ponytails.

"Yes…her. She's no longer just a student at this college. She's a magus now," said Mizuki.

"How in the world…" began Leon.

"You're guess is as good as mine. However, I think I have a hunch…that fate somehow had a hand in this," she replied.

"You _do_ realize that as a result, those closest to her will now be targets. I can't guarantee her safety," said Leon.

"You don't have to…he will," said Mizuki.

"By he…I'm presuming you mean Kaname," said Leon.

"Exactly," she said. "Right now all we have are questions…and not a lot of answers."

"I'll do what I can for now…but I should warn you to tread carefully. You only know half of what they're going through right now," said Leon, as he went to get the soccer equipment after the students had finished doing their laps.

Kaname then decided to lend a hand as well, and as soon as they were out of earshot he turned to Leon and asked, "What exactly are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," he said.

"I was told to keep an eye on Nanoha," replied Kaname.

"Nanoha? So that's her name."

"Oh don't give me that 'I don't remember her' crap. You saw her with that blonde girl, Fate that one night before the sudden attack," retorted Kaname, as he was carrying one of the bags with soccer balls.

"Guilty as charged," he joked.

Kaname stopped and dropped the bag and faced Leon.

"I'm not fooling around here. Someone tipped off about what would happen here and I need to know why," he answered.

"As do I. However…I just recently heard about an interesting tidbit that you might want to hear," said Leon.

"I'm listening," said Kaname.

"Apparently, your old lycan friend managed to break into an underground vampire fortress with a small band of his kind and break out your mother and someone else from prison. As for why, that is beyond me. I usually thought them to be bitter enemies," said Leon.

"Most still are and very few are willing to cooperate," said Kaname, picking up the bag. "Are you sure of this?"

"Beyond any doubt. Now…come on, we best not keep them waiting," said Leon, going on ahead of Kaname.

As they set up the field and the teams divided, Kaname noticed Nanoha swaying a bit as if something was wrong and tried to communicate telepathically.

'_Nanoha…are you alright_?' asked Kaname.

'_I'm feeling a little dizzy…and slightly tired_,' she replied.

'Damn it…she must've pushed herself a bit during that fight,' thought Kaname.

"Nanoha-chan…are you alright?" asked Arisa.

"Just a bit tired and slightly dizzy," she replied.

"Leon…I think Nanoha is going to have to sit this one out. She doesn't look so good," he said.

"Alright…I have a cold water bottle with me as well as some meds that should help with whatever she's feeling," replied Leon.

Arisa and Suzuka guided Nanoha to a wooden bench and set her down as Leon gave her some water and a couple of pills to deal with her headache. Kaname then decided to join the soccer game as Arisa, Suzuka, and Nanoha watched from the sidelines.

Kaname quickly realized that he didn't have as much in terms of conditioning as much of the other students but he knew how to strategize and plan. He managed to gain a goal for his team, but it was through his strategies that enabled his team to win by only one more point as the other team had two points.

By the time the game ended and the class was over, Arisa then offered to take Nanoha to the infirmary while Kaname then volunteered to take her class notes to her after the next class had finished once Suzuka had finished copying them down. Kaname then notified Yunno via telepathy, as he was helping Leon put away the sports equipment.

After he had finished changing in the boys' locker room, Kaname's next class as he found out from his slightly altered schedule was biology on the third floor. The only thing that made him uneasy was if his vampire side suddenly came up if they were to do a dissection, and that would really cause problems. The class turned out to be two fold. He was able to copy the notes needed during lecture and fortunately for him during the lab portion of class, there were no dissections, but there were a few stations with microscopes set up as they were looking through specimens with regards to cell types. As Kaname found out later, the lab portion seemed to take a bit less compared to the lecture portion. Surprisingly, Yunno was also in the same class as him. So besides talking about the lessons in class, Kaname then mentioned that Nanoha could've possibly overexerted herself slightly, despite being a new magus, as well as what Leon had told him.

"How do you know of this?" he asked.

"It happened during the PE class, as I was helping set up the soccer game," replied Kaname.

"She told me that she's not very good in the physical aspect of the class," said Yunno.

"Yeah…that evidence made itself apparent."

"So this Leon guy said that a lycan ally managed to lead a small group into an underground vampire lair and free your mother and whoever else was captured?" inquired Yunno.

"That's what he told me," said Kaname.

"Do you really think you can trust what he's saying?"

"To be frank Yunno…I don't know what to think right now. If what he says is true, then there's no way she would have come out unscathed," he answered.

"She's a vampire though," said Yunno.

"With none of her abilities I might add," said Kaname. "She's more vulnerable than before."

"But what about that memory sweep?" asked Yunno.

"That appears to only be the skill she has left," he replied. Suddenly, a sense of dread began to come upon Kaname as soon as he said that.

"Oh no."

"What is it?" asked Yunno.

"If whoever captured her knew of her ability…they might try to extract information regarding what you told me earlier about those artifacts and find their locations," said Kaname.

"That _would_ be bad," said Yunno. "Did Leon mention anything about a source?"

"I'm not sure," replied Kaname.

As the lunch break came up, Kaname and Yunno found Nanoha leaving the infirmary as Suzuka gave her the notes that were copied from Nanoha's other classes.

The five of them decided to eat on the rooftop which had a chain link fence, several metal benches and a huge square with various flowers in the center. As Yunno and Nanoha were discussing about questions regarding history and biology, Kaname thought for a while about what Leon had told him as well as the sudden possibility that his mom would be slightly weakened after being captured. What he didn't want to dwell on was what could have possibly happened to her as a result of that. By the time lunch was over, Kaname only had a couple of classes left, which were English Literature, and Music. Luckily for him, he had his violin case. The classes felt short to him at first, but after they ended, as Kaname left the campus, he spotted two black vans, as well as the Audi lined up in the front. Some of the students began to wonder as to what was going on. Kaname spotted Capt. Lindy and Chrono coming out in civilian form from one of the vans and walked up to them.

"Any word on Patrick's whereabouts?" he asked.

"No…but your partner Philip manage to get information on the contact that told your lycan ally as to where to find your mother," she replied.

"We've notified Nanoha's family and told them the situation is under control for now. However, they had plans of trying to head back and run the bakery business again," said Chrono.

"Although that seems normal, she will eventually realize that her involvement now puts those close to her in danger. It'll be difficult to ensure their safety," said Kaname.

"We'll try and find a way to make it work. In the meantime, I suggest we head back so we can discuss further planning," said Capt. Lindy.

"Understood," said Kaname, as he rolled up one of his sleeves and pushed a button on his watch which activated the DATS program putting it on autopilot as well as the automatic navigation system. As Reo and the others went ahead, he spotted Philip coming along in a red Suzuki motorcycle while his own was not far behind him. Kaname offered Nanoha a ride, while Yunno rode behind Philip, with Kaname taking the lead. He then explained telepathically of the current situation, excluding the part about his mother being captured, while Yunno filled in bits that Kaname had trouble explaining.

By the time they got back, it was already getting dark and Nanoha found the underground base to be a bit intimidating. The only tidbit that Kaname and the others weren't told about was that there was a magic barrier that was able to contain magic energy, even if it was only during training sessions.

What Kaname saw upon arriving however, made his stomach lurch a bit. Luke was covered with slash marks and a few deep wounds, his breathing heavy, and was shivering considering he was out of lycan form and bleeding pretty bad, and had numerous bandages on him. Kaname's mother was currently resting on a stretched out couch with a couple of pillows, a thick blanket, and a cool wet towel on her forehead. The woman next to her he immediately recognized as Minako. Amy was tending to them both, while Xelia sat near her master in bat form. After Nanoha was

Introduced to the rest of the crew, Capt. Lindy, Chrono, and Yunno explained the current situation to Nanoha…in segments.

"So…let me get this straight…there's fights going on between humans, vampires, beastmen, and werewolves and somehow a dark force is possibly the cause of these conflicts?" she inquired.

"That's pretty much the gist of it," said Philip.

"What has been the magus' role in the conflict?" asked Nanoha.

"Back then…most were trying to act as a buffer between the factions, but as soon as word caught wind of what some of them were capable of doing…including the dark arts, that's when things slowly began to take a turn for the worst. Some were able to resist the dark powers and tried to seal away those that were influenced by them…however, that proved to be a risky and foolish mistake," explained Yunno.

"However, some of us were led to believe that even before that, magi from other places have been in past wars which have ravaged across the lands years ago, before the one war that involved them with the other four factions," added Xelia.

'_We'll have to be discreet on the other details if we were to explain this to Nanoha's family_,' said Yunno to Chrono, telepathically.

'_I'm not sure if they're going to take it well_,' he replied.

As the others were explaining other bits of information regarding past history to Nanoha, Kaname's ears picked up a faint knocking sound at the door and rushed upstairs and towards the front door to answer it. He was shocked and surprised however, as to the blonde figure and the two others accompanying her.

It was Fate, with Arf and Vercossa, and from the looks of what Kaname had just seen…the outlook wasn't good.

"Can you help us? We just barely got past a second surprise attack," said Arf.

"What happened to Fate?" asked Kaname.

"She was berated and beaten badly…by Precia," said Vercossa.

"We better take this downstairs," said Kaname, carefully picking Fate's battered form with Arf and Vercossa following behind him.

Nanoha then heard incoming footsteps as Kaname came back down and was shocked and surprised to see him carrying Fate.

"Fate-chan!"

"Get some pillows and blankets quick!" barked Kaname.

"On it," said Philip, as he rushed upstairs.

"What happened?" asked Reo.

"You'd find this hard to believe but…" began Vercossa.

"She was whipped and beaten…by Precia, her mother," said Arf.

"Are you sure she's really her mother?" asked a familiar voice.

Arf, Vercossa, and Kaname turned to see Minako slowly get up from her bed.

"What do you mean?" asked Kaname. "Isn't she really?"

"I think it's best if I started back from the time I left your place, Kaname," said Minako.

Kaname looked at Chrono and Amy for a brief moment and immediately spotted something that was off.

Amy was looking away for a brief moment and it was then that he felt something was wrong.

"Guys…is there anything you want to tell me before Minako tells her story?" he inquired.

"Um…well…you see…" began Amy.

"Come on guys…what were your findings?" asked Kaname.

When they didn't answer, he asked again.

"I need things to be clear before she starts guys. What…did you find?"

"First off…we came across something that we didn't realize was actually around after the war as well as during those times when mages began sealing in those Dark Fangs," said Yunno.

"Which was…"

"There were small fragments that have a small variety of aftereffects called Shadow Seeds," said Xelia.

"That's what you probably felt during the fight at the college grounds Kaname," said Nanoha.

"Most likely," said Xelia. "Lately there have been reports of sudden attacks happening both in the cities and in some cases probably in the paladin branches as well."

"How do you know of this?" asked Kaname.

"Xelia monitored what was going on through this," said Chrono, pulling out a circular case which was actually a cover for a golden pendant with strange markings and in the center a smooth ruby.

"What is it?" asked Reo.

"It's something I use to amplify my telekinetic abilities to an extent," said Xelia. "However…there's a slight drawback. Well a few at least. One of them is that it can be a bit draining for me…mentally more than physically, another is that while I'm able to try and read other minds of vampires…there have been times when I've felt dark forces try and enter mine, so I have to quickly get out of the trance before it happens. As for the last one…forget it…it's…a bit embarrassing."

"What is it?" asked Reo.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to Xelia," said Kaname. "Was there anything else?"

When no one answered, Kaname became suspicious. "Guys…I'm serious. The looks on your faces give it away."

"We…went through your family background," said Amy.

"What?"

"Going through your family history…we just found out something that turned out to be nothing more than a lie," said Chrono.

"Which is what?" asked Kaname.

"You were told that you possibly have a brother due to the mark on your right hand. The truth is…you don't have a brother. She lied to you," said Chrono.

"Kaname…after Minako finishes her story…there's…something personal, I need to discuss with you about," said Vercossa.

"Alright," he replied. "Let's hear what she has to say."


End file.
